Blowering Reservoir - NSW

Sixth and final dam on the Tumut River holds 1600 GL of water which has spun the turbines of Tumut 1, 2 and 3 Power Stations as part of the Snowy-Tumut Development. Of earthfill construction the dam has an impervious clay core and protective riprap on its outside.
An 80 MW power station generates electricity releasing a steady 2 to 5 GL per day during the irrigation season from Oct to April. With 99% or more of the potential energy of the water converted to electrical energy only a gentle turbulence swirls in the tailwater bay. The same pressure of water discharged from the irrigation outlets vents its kinetic energy in an impressive display even at half the flow of the generator as aeration and turbulence quell the incoming flow in the 7 m deep stilling basin. Finally these waters flow along the tailwater channel and rejoin the riverbed to be carried downstream for irrigation in the Murrumbidgee valley.