| Woronora Dam | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Woronora Dam reservoir | |
  Location of the Woronora Dam of the southern boundary of greater Sydney | |
| Country | Australia |
| Location | south of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Coordinates | 34°6′40″S 150°56′4″E / 34.11111°S 150.93444°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1927 |
| Opening date | 1941 |
| Construction cost | A$13 million |
| Owner(s) | Sydney Catchment Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity dam |
| Impounds | Woronora River |
| Height | 66 m (217 ft) |
| Length | 390 m (1,280 ft) |
| Dam volume | 285×103 m3 (10.1×106 cu ft) |
| Spillway capacity | 1,470 m3/s (52,000 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Woronora Dam |
| Total capacity | 71,790 ML (2,535×106 cu ft) |
| Catchment area | 75 km2 (29 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 380 ha (940 acres) |
| Official name | Woronora Dam |
| Type | State heritage (built) |
| Designated | 18 November 1999 |
| Reference no. | 1378 |
| Type | Water Supply Reservoir/ Dam |
| Category | Utilities – Water |
| Builders | Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board of NSW |
The Woronora Dam is a heritage-listed concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled serpentine spillway across the Woronora River, located south of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, in the suburb of Woronora Dam, Sutherland Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The principal purpose of the dam is for potable water supply for Sydney's southern suburbs and the northern suburbs of the Illawarra region. The impounded 71,790-megalitre (2,535×106 cu ft) reservoir is also called Woronora Dam and is sometimes incorrectly called Lake Woronora. The dam was designed by G. E. Haskins, Chief Engineer and the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board of NSW (MWS&DB) and built from 1927 to 1941 by the MWS&DB. The property is owned by the Sydney Catchment Authority, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 1999.[1]
In 2009 the NSW State government granted the mining company Peabody conditional approval to mine for coal in the Reservoir catchment and directly under the Reservoir. In 2020 the NSW Planning Department gave final approval for the longwall mine tunnels directly under the Reservoir to go ahead.[2]
- ^ "Woronora Dam". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01378. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
- ^ "Protect our water catchment - stop mining Woronora".
