Around A$12.4 million is to be spent on upgrading works at the Burrendong Dam in Australia in 2014, the New South Wales government has announced.
NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson and Member for Orange Andrew Gee announced that construction on two separate State Water Corporation projects – the $4 million world-first cold water works and the $8.4 million second phase of dam safety upgrade works – will begin early this year.
“The NSW Government is committed to improving vital water infrastructure for our regional communities," Hodgkinson said. "We are working with the State Water Corporation to deliver dam safety upgrades and such cutting edge projects as the cold water works to ensure the dams continue to protect and serve communities.
The projects at Burrendong are part of the NSW Government’s State-wide investment in water infrastructure. Across NSW the government has invested more than $300 million in dam safety upgrades with approximately $100 million retained in regional areas during the last three years."
Industry estimates about 60% of funding for the dam safety upgrades is injected into local economies through purchase of materials, labour and engaging local subcontractors, Andrew Gee explained.
“The tender for the dam safety upgrade works at Burrendong Dam was awarded to Australian company Bardavcol with construction scheduled to start in March," he said. "A new auxiliary spillway will be constructed as well as some additional works to the existing spillway gates which will make the dam fully compliant with NSW Dams Safety Committee standards for extreme floods.
The cold water pollution works involve construction of a temperature control structure around the intake tower of the dam to enable warmer water from the surface of the dam to be released downstream, reducing the impact of cold water on native fish.
Picture: The Burrendong dam temperature control curtain
