Crotty Dam
The Crotty Dam, also known during construction as the King Dam,[1] or the King River Dam on initial approval,[2] is a rockfill embankment dam with a controlled and uncontrolled spillway across the King River, between Mount Jukes and Mount Huxley, located in Western Tasmania, Australia.
| Crotty Dam | |
|---|---|
 Crotty Dam (at right) aerial shot from the east | |
  Location of the Crotty Dam in Tasmania | |
| Country | Australia |
| Location | West Coast Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 42°09′35″S 145°37′00″E |
| Purpose | Power |
| Status | Operational |
| Opening date | 1991 |
| Owner(s) | Hydro Tasmania |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment dam |
| Impounds | King River |
| Height | 83 metres (272 ft) |
| Length | 245 metres (804 ft) |
| Width (crest) | 300 millimetres (12 in) |
| Dam volume | 770×103 m3 (27×106 cu ft) |
| Spillways | 1 |
| Spillway type | Controlled and uncontrolled |
| Spillway capacity |
|
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Burbury |
| Total capacity | 1,081,420 ML (38,190×106 cu ft) |
| Active capacity | 1,065,000 ML (37,600×106 cu ft) |
| Catchment area | 559 km2 (216 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 53,250×103 m2 (573.2×106 sq ft) |
| John Butters Power Station | |
| Coordinates | 42°09′21″S 145°32′04″E |
| Operator(s) | Hydro Tasmania |
| Commission date | 1992 |
| Type | Conventional |
| Hydraulic head | 184 metres (604 ft) |
| Turbines | 1 x 144 MW (193,000 hp) Fuji Francis turbine |
| Installed capacity | 144 megawatts (193,000 hp) |
| Capacity factor | 0.9 |
| Annual generation | 576 gigawatt-hours (2,070 TJ) |
| Website hydro | |
The impounded reservoir is called Lake Burbury.
The dam was constructed in 1991 as part of the King River Power Development Scheme, by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the John Butters Power Station located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) below the dam wall.[3]
Features and location
The Crotty Dam, together with the Darwin Dam, are two major dams that form the headwaters for the King River Hydroelectric Power Development. The dam is located in the upper reaches of the King River gorge where the river breaks through the West Coast Range. It captures the high rainfall in the catchment of the King River and allows diversion of water through a tunnel to the John Butters Power Station downstream of the dam.
The Crotty Dam wall, constructed with 770 thousand cubic metres (27×106 cu ft) of concrete faced rock and gravel fill core, is 83 metres (272 ft) high and 245 metres (804 ft) long. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 1,081,420 megalitres (38,190×106 cu ft) (43,000×106 cu ft) of water. The surface area of Lake Burbury is 53,250 hectares (131,600 acres) and the catchment area is 559 square kilometres (216 sq mi). The single uncontrolled and controlled spillway is capable of discharging 435 cubic metres per second (15,400 cu ft/s).[4]
Spillway
A unique feature of the dam is its spillway. The spillway is located on the embankment, rather than on one of the rock abutments. This had never been successfully attempted before in the design of dams of any significant height, due to problems in making allowance for embankment settlements. In the case of Crotty Dam, the embankment was partly composed of well graded gravels, and thus a very high modulus of embankment deformation was achieved. The high modulus limits embankment settlements. Additionally, the spillway was designed to articulate in order to accommodate any settlement that did occur.
The spillway is designed to allow sufficient time for a large jet flow valve located in the diversion tunnel to be opened so that larger floods can be safely handled.
The spillway designers, Sergio Giudici, also the chief engineer on the Gordon Dam, Frank Kinstler, Steven Li, Tony Morse and Graeme Maher were acknowledged within the engineering community because the spillway was the first known to "provide for articulation of the spillway structure so that movements in its foundations could occur without damage to the overlying structure".[5]
Power station
The water from Lake Burbury is conveyed through a 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) long unlined tunnel that runs through Mount Jukes to the John Butters Power Station, which is located on the King River downstream of the dam and King River gorge, near the confluence with the Queen River.[6]
History
The dam was constructed in the 1980s following the abandonment of the Gordon-below-Franklin power development scheme, part of the Franklin Dam. The Crotty Dam was commissioned in 1991, with the King River Power development being completed by 1992.[7]
The dam is named in honour of James Crotty who founded the North Mount Lyell Copper Mine at the turn of the 20th century. A ghost town site of the same name Crotty was submerged by the waters of Lake Burbury.
In the 1910s the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company had investigated and surveyed a site very close to this dam for a proposed hydro electric scheme. Charles Whitham also wrote of the inevitability of the dam in 1927 and even proposed "Lake Dorothy" as a name for the reservoir.
In 2001, Engineers Australia selected Crotty Dam as one of the 25 dams with the greatest Australian heritage value.[5] It was awarded a Historic Engineering Marker as part of the Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.[8]
References
- HEC (1983) King River Power Development, HEC Public Relations, December 1983
- "Anthony and King Power Developments approved". Cross Currents. Hydro-Electric Commission (70). 1983. ISSN 0811-4803.
- "King - Yolande". Energy: Our power stations. Hydro Tasmania. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- "Register of Large Dams in Australia" (Excel (requires download)). Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- "Crotty Dam, Tasmania" (PDF). Submission for historic engineering marker. Engineers Australia. September 2000.
- page 10 and 11 of Tasmania. Hydro-Electric Commission (1992), King River power development, The Commission, retrieved 9 June 2018
- Felton, Heather; Hydro Tasmania (2008). Ticklebelly tales and other stories from the people of the Hydro. Hydro Tasmania. pp. 482, 465–472. ISBN 978-0-646-47724-4.
- "Crotty Dam, King River, 1991-". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
Further reading
- Blainey, Geoffrey (2000). The Peaks of Lyell (6th ed.). Hobart: St. David's Park Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7246-2265-8.
- Felton (2007). Tickleberry Tales and Other Stories from the People of the Hydro. Tasmania, Australia: Hydro Tasmania. ISBN 978-0-646-47724-4.
- Rae, Lou (2001). The Abt Railway and Railways of the Lyell region. Sandy Bay: Lou Rae. ISBN 978-0-9592098-7-7.
- Whitham, Charles (2003). Western Tasmania - A land of riches and beauty (Reprint 2003 ed.). Queenstown: Municipality of Queenstown.