Mildura Weir is operated by
Goulburn-Murray Water on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.
Location
Mildura Weir and Lock 11 are located on the
Murray River at
Mildura in north-western Victoria.
History
Construction of the
Mildura Weir and Lock 11 began in August 1923 and was completed four years later in 1927.
The weir comprises 24 steel trestles, each weighing approximately 11 tonnes. The trestles can be winched from the river to allow maintenance, or to allow the safe passage of flood waters.
Lock 11 is one of several similar structures built along the Murray to enhance navigability while weirs provided stable pools for irrigation development. The lock is a concrete chamber 61.5 m long, 17.1 m wide and 7.6 m deep. Each of the four steel lock gates is 9.4 m long, 6.9 m high and weighs 18 tonnes The lock is filled by opening the four butterfly valves (0.9 m - 1.8 m) that are located upstream of the two upstream lock gates. Water enters the lock chamber via two 2.4 m x 1.5 m tunnels and the chamber can accommodate approximately 4.5ML. The lock chamber is drained by opening four butterfly valves near the downstream gates, which are operated by hydraulic cylinders. The difference between the river levels upstream and downstream of the weir is normally 3.7 m.
The first paddle steamer passed through the completed lock on 2 August 1927.
Operations
Mildura Weir provides a stable
pool for diversions to Lower Murray Water's
Mildura and
Red Cliffs districts, and numerous private diversion customers. The construction of the weir also improved water quality in the
Mildura region by preventing undue percolation of groundwater.
Mildura Weir and Lock 11 are unique by being the only site on the River Murray where the lock and weir are separated by an island. The 15 ha of bushland on the island provides a habitat for native animals and is a popular tourism site.
- See more at:
http://www.g-mwater.com.au/water-resources/storages/milduraweir#sthash.RvHfxOAT.dpuf