Hydro Tasmania has been meeting with landowners and other stakeholders in the Derwent Valley to discuss planned maintenance on Meadowbank Dam, which will require the temporary lowering of Lake Meadowbank.

Scheduled to begin in early 2022, Lake Meadowbank will be lowered twice over two years, to allow for work on the dam’s crest gates, which control water flows and lake levels.

Executive GM Assets and Infrastructure Jesse Clark said that as Australia’s largest water manager, Hydro Tasmania knows the rivers and lakes that form its hydropower system have many users.

“While Lake Meadowbank is storage for the Meadowbank Power Station, it is also a popular recreation spot and a valuable water source for neighbouring farmers,” Mr Clark said.

“Meadowbank Dam’s crest gates have been in service for more than 50 years and replacing them will be a complex project, requiring a crane to carefully lift 20 hydraulic cylinders, each weighing 4 tonnes, and the removal of extensive piping and wiring, all of which must be carried out in a safe and dry environment.”

“We know this project will affect the surrounding community, particularly neighbouring land owners and irrigators, so we began speaking with stakeholders in January 2020 to understand their concerns and we have responded by modifying the project schedule to reduce potential impacts.”

The project will now be undertaken across both 2022 and 2023, providing two shorter more manageable drawdowns of Lake Meadowbank instead of one long drawdown.

Hydro Tasmania will continue to listen to community stakeholders as the project moves ahead and a final schedule will be developed following the appointment of a contractor later this year.

Ends.

Released for Hydro Tasmania by Trent Swindells / 0409 722 359 / media@hydro.com.au.