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Carcoar Dam

     
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Carcoar Dam

Carcoar Dam is located on the Belubula River, about 6km from Carcoar and is named after this historic settlement.

Carcoar Dam is a relatively small dam compared with many others, still it can hold almost 36,000 megalitres of water, which is roughly equivalent to 18,000 Olympic swimming pools. When full, it covers 385ha, the equivalent of more than 560 football fields and the height of the dam wall is 46m, almost as tall as a 15 storey building.

About the Dam

Construction of Carcoar Dam began in 1969 and was completed in 1970.  Carcoar Dam features an unusual concrete arch and is curved from side to side and also from top to bottom. It has massive concrete supports at each end to strengthen the thin wall against the weight of water in the dam.  A spillway runs along the entire length of the arch so when water in the dam rises above that level it simply flows over the top.

Recreation

The dam is situated in an attractive setting, providing an ideal site for many types of outdoor recreation. Water sports such as swimming, power boating, sailing, sail boarding and water skiing can all be enjoyed on the dam. Fishing is another popular activity and the dam is stocked with golden perch, trout and murray cod.

Water Supply

Carcoar Dam supplies water for irrigation, domestic and stock use in the Belubula valley.  Releases of water from the dam, combined with flows from the Belubula River system, provide water to irrigate up to 3,900ha of land in the lower reaches of the valley. The Belubula valley's main crop is lucerne with pastures for sheep and cattle and cereal crops such as wheat also cultivated. Vegetables are also grown along the river. Farm production in the Belubula valley increased greatly because of the assured water supply provided by Carcoar Dam.

For up-to-date storage level information, visit http://www.waternsw.com.au/supply/visit/carcoar-dam

Water Supply Licences

Carcoar Dam is part of the Lachlan Water Source.  In total there are 72 licences with a 26,103.9ML entitlement along 1,294km of the river.

High security/industry entitlements - 7,200ML•
General security entitlements - 18,900ML•
Stock and domestic requirements - 202ML•
Water users hold access licences which determine their share component. Share components specify how much of the valley's resource is available for each licence holder to use.

Examples of high security licence holders are local councils for town water supply and permanent crops such as orchards. Available Water Determinations (AWD's) credit access licence accounts with water, based on the water sharing plan for that valley.
  

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Last modified: 31 Jan 2022

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