Cataract Dam, Cataract, NSW, Australia
Posted by: 
Aussiebrian
S 34° 15.922 E 150° 48.264
56H E 297855 N 6206238
Created by damming the Cataract River, construction started in 1902 and was completed in 1907.
Waymark Code: WM17GWC
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 02/19/2023
Views: 0
The Upper Nepean catchment south of Sydney is in one of the highest rainfall zones on the mid-NSW coast, and the area's rivers, located in narrow gorges, provide ideal dam sites.
As early as 1888, two weirs were built on the Cataract and Nepean rivers to capture this rainfall as part of the Upper Nepean Scheme to help meet Sydney's growing needs. Tunnels, canals and aqueducts - known as the Upper Canal - diverted the water 64 kilometres to Prospect Reservoir.
The scheme provided only temporary relief, and the 1901 - 1902 drought brought Sydney perilously close to a complete water famine. After two Royal Commissions, authorities agreed that a dam be built on the Cataract River. The successive building of Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean dams between 1907 and 1935 greatly increased the Upper Nepean Scheme's capacity.
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