The Parangana Dam is an earthen-faced rockfill embankment dam across the Mersey River, located south of Mersey Forest, in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Completed in 1968, the resultant reservoir, Lake Parangana, was established for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the Parangana Power Station, a run-of-the-river mini-hydro power station.
| Parangana Dam | |
|---|---|
  Parangana Dam Location of the dam in Tasmania | |
 Interactive map of Parangana Dam | |
| Country | Australia |
| Location | Northern Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 41°37′59″S 146°13′22″E / 41.633183°S 146.22277°E |
| Purpose | Power |
| Status | Operational |
| Opening date | 1968 |
| Owner | Hydro Tasmania |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Rock-fill dam |
| Impounds | Mersey River |
| Height | 53 m (174 ft) |
| Length | 189 m (620 ft) |
| Dam volume | 382×103 m3 (13.5×106 cu ft) |
| Spillways | 1 |
| Spillway type | Uncontrolled |
| Spillway capacity | 2,093 m3/s (73,900 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Parangana |
| Total capacity | 14,820 ML (12,010 acre⋅ft) |
| Catchment area | 715 km2 (276 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 11.4 ha (28 acres) |
| Normal elevation | 379 m (1,243 ft) AHD |
| Parangana Power Station | |
| Coordinates | 41°37′46″S 146°13′13″E / 41.629397979°S 146.2202809103°E |
| Operator | Hydro Tasmania |
| Commission date | 2002 |
| Type | Run-of-the-river mini-hydro |
| Hydraulic head | 35 m (115 ft) |
| Turbines | 1 x 0.75 MW (1,010 hp) (Tyco Tamar Francis-type) |
| Installed capacity | 0.75 MW (1,010 hp) |
| Capacity factor | 0.81 |
| Website hydro.com.au | |
| [1] | |
The dam, its reservoir, and the power station are owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
Dam and reservoir overview
editThe rock-filled dam wall with a clay core is 53 metres (174 ft) high and 189 metres (620 ft) long. When full, Lake Parangana has capacity of 14,820 megalitres (12,010 acre⋅ft) and covers 11.4 hectares (28 acres), drawn from a catchment area of 715 square kilometres (276 sq mi). The single uncontrolled spillway is capable of discharging 2,093 cubic metres per second (73,900 cu ft/s).[1]
Water is fed into Lake Parangana after running through the Rowallan and Fisher power stations. After running through the Parangana mini-hydro power station, water travels approximately eight-kilometre (5.0 mi) tunnels to the Lemonthyme Power Station which discharges into the River Forth. However, for environmental reasons, some water continues down the Mersey River. The station was built to generate energy from this environmental flow. As a result, the Mersey-Forth power development diverts the majority of water from the upper reaches of the Mersey from Lake Parangana to the River Forth.[2]
On 2 March 2026, it was announced that the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation project officially commenced. The project will enable water to flow from the Mersey River, backed up by the Parangana Dam, to ensure farmers have water even in dry times. The project will add approximately 9.2 billion megalitres (7.5×109 acre⋅ft) of water to the scheme, and is expected to be completed by mid-to-late 2027, including the installation of more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) of new and upgraded pipes; two pump stations (new and refurbished); a balance tank; and seventy water outlets for farms.[3]
Hydroelectric power station
editThe power station was commissioned in 2002 by Hydro Tasmania and is the only mini hydro electric power station in the Mersey–Forth run-of-river scheme that also contains seven run-of-the-river hydroelectric power stations.[4] The Parangana Power Station has one Tyco Tamar Francis-type turbine, with a generating capacity of 0.85 megawatts (1,140 hp).[5][6]
See also
edit
References
edit- 1 2 "Register of Large Dams Australia-2015" (Excel. Requires download. Row 397). ANCOLD. January 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ↑ "Mersey River Catchment Report 2024/25" (PDF). Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Tasmanian Government. August 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Work starts on new project set to almost triple local water supply". Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Australian Government. 2 March 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Our power stations: Mersey-Forth". Energy. Hydro Tasmania. n.d. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ↑ "Parangana Power Station: Technical fact sheet" (PDF). Mersey-Forth Catchment. Hydro Tasmania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ↑ "The Hydro after 100 Years" (PDF). EHA Magazine. March 2015. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2022.
External links
edit- "Our power stations: Mersey-Forth". Hydro Tasmania. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- "Mersey-Forth Water Management Review: Program Commitments" (schematic). Hydro Tasmania. n.d. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- "Mersey-Forth Water Management Review: Fish Migration in the Mersey-Forth catchments: Technical and Social Study" (PDF). Hydro Tasmania. November 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- Knighton, A. D. (1988). "The impact of the Parangana Dam on the River Mersey, Tasmania" (Abstract). Geomorphology. 1 (3): 221–237. doi:10.1016/0169-555X(88)90015-3. ISSN 0169-555X. Retrieved 30 April 2026 – via Science Direct.