Lake Burragorang
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| Lake Burragorang | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | Dammed water supply lake |
| Primary sources | Coxs, Kowmung, Nattai, Wingecarribee, and Wollondilly Rivers |
| Primary outflows | Warragamba River |
| Catchment area | 9051 km² |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max-length | 52 km |
| Surface area | 75 km² |
| Max-depth | 105m |
| Water volume | 2031 GL |
| Shore length1 | 354 km |
| Surface elevation | 110m |
| 1 Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized for this article. | |
Lake Burragorang is the water storage impounded by Warragamba Dam. It collects the waters of the Coxs, Kowmung, Nattai, Wingecarribee, and Wollondilly Rivers. It is the major water storage for Sydney, Australia. There are fears, however, that population pressures may stretch the reservoir's ability to furnish Sydneysiders with needed water well into the 21st century[1]. The city's population is rising by about 50,000 every year, and water restrictions were imposed late in 2003; a serious drought would complicate matters. It is located in the heart of the Blue Mountains, within the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site.
The reservoir's usable capacity is 2 027 000 000 000 L. Before the Deep Water Storage Recovery project completed in April 2006, the usable capacity was 1 857 000 000 000 L.
There have been times when it has been seriously depleted. In March 1983, Lake Burragorang's level reached a low of 45.4% of capacity. More recently, it hit an all-time low of 34.8% on 23 June 2005.
Lake Burragorang is surrounded by a 3 km wide exclusion zone to protect the integrity of the water supply, access into this zone is restricted. There are two access corridors for bushwalkers: Mount Mouin to Mount Cooke & Belloon Pass to Yerranderie. Limited public vehicle access is allowed on fire trail W4 from Sheahy's Creek to Yerranderie.
Not only can the reservoir provide water, but also electricity. A hydroelectric power station at Warragamba Dam begins operating once the level in the reservoir reaches to within one metre of full capacity. Its output is 50 MW, but the dam water level has not been high enough for it to operate since 1998.
In the upper left corner of the view (below) looking roughly southeastwards are Sydney's western suburbs. A crooked corridor of development may also be seen leading through the forested mountains to the inland towns of Katoomba and Blackheath (near the centre) and beyond.
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