The second stage of a three part project to improve the capacity of Hume Dam on the Murray river in Australia has been completed on time and in budget. The works involved building a 50,000 tonne concrete buttress wall to strengthen the southern training wall at the dam.
The Hume Dam project is being managed by State Water Corporation and is funded by the New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian governments in partnership with the Commonwealth Government and administered through the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
In the stage 2 works, the project team worked together with dam operators to deliver the project without impacting operations of the dam or water releases, State Water project manager Mark Pearson said.
"The construction contractors McConnell Dowell first built a cofferdam to create a dry work area below the spillway and ensure works didn’t impact the water releases from the dam," Pearson explained. "The cofferdam enabled temporary excavation works to build the foundations for construction of the 110m long, 33m high concrete buttress.
"The buttress will provide greater support to the existing wall, and in turn the main embankment, to enable it to better withstand extreme earthquakes."
Around 40 suppliers and subcontractors from the local area were involved in the project throughout construction, with all quarry materials also sourced locally.
Investigations for the third stage of works, to improve the ability of the dam to withstand extreme flood events, are continuing and the scope of the works is yet to be determined.
Photo: Hume Dam project on the Murray river in Australia (Credit: State Water)
