| Chichester Dam | |
| Location Map: | New South Wales |
| Location Map Caption: | Location in New South Wales |
| Coordinates: | -32.2317°N 151.6844°W |
| Country: | Australia |
| Location: | Dungog, New South Wales |
| Purpose: | Water supply |
| Status: | O |
| Construction Began: | 1917 |
| Opening: | 1926 |
| Cost: | A£ |
| Owner: | Hunter Water Corporation |
| Dam Type: | G |
| Dam Height: | 43m (141feet) |
| Dam Length: | 254m (833feet) |
| Dam Volume: | 18.4ML |
| Dam Crosses: | Chichester River, Wangat River |
| Spillway Capacity: | 3300m3/s |
| Res Name: | Lake Chichester |
| Res Capacity Total: | 21500ML |
| Res Catchment: | 197km2 |
| Res Surface: | 1.8km2 |
| Res Elevation: | 156.2m (512.5feet) AHD |
| Res Max Length: | 4.22km (02.62miles) |
| Res Max Width: | 580m (1,900feet) |
| Plant Operator: | Delta Electricity |
| Plant Type: | C |
| Plant Turbines: | 1 |
| Plant Capacity: | 110kW |
| Plant Annual Gen: | 0.4GWh |
Chichester Dam is a minor concrete gravity dam across the Chichester and Wangat rivers, upstream of Dungog, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is water supply for the Lower Hunter region. A mini hydro-electric power station operates at times of peak flow and is connected to the national grid. The impounded reservoir is Lake Chichester.
The dam wall is high, long, and was constructed using a cyclopean system of interlocking concrete blocks and large boulders with a volume of . The wall is anchored to the bedrock below it by 93 stressed tendons. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water at Australian Height Datum. The spillway is capable of discharging . The surface area of the reservoir is and the catchment area, largely located within the Barrington Tops National Park, is . The dam is connected to reservoirs in Maitland, Cessnock and Newcastle by an 80km (50miles) gravitation main.[1] [2]
Land for the water supply scheme was appropriated in the Gazette of 6 October 1916. To safeguard the purity of the water the populated part of the Wangat Valley, including the old goldmining town of Wangat, and the greater portion of the populated part of the Chichester Valley were resumed.[3] The Act appropriated £A as the estimated cost of construction of the dam, with additional funds set aside for land resumption.[4]
In 1965 the spillway was lowered by to increase flood capacity. In 1985 the dam was post tensioned with cables and the spillway was relocated to the centre of the dam and returned to its original height. In 1995 the seepage potential was reduced under the northern abutment and in 2003 an improved drainage system for the dam's foundations was installed and the left parapet wall was raised to prevent overtopping in a major flood.[1]
Following a report by the Health Rivers Commission, in 1998 the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, Craig Knowles, announced that a small hydro-electric power station would be installed in the Chichester Dam in order to generate electricity, reduce greenhouse emissions and allow surplus power to be sold back to the grid.[5] Completed in 2001 and operated by Delta Electricity, the mini-power station generates up to of electricity at times of peak flow; with an average annual generation of .[6]