H2-Go: Water gates open to send billions of litres down SA river
Spectacular images have emerged as the gates to SA’s largest reservoir were opened today. See the video of the water surging.
For the first time in four years, SA’s Mount Bold reservoir has captured more than 13 billion litres of water, sending water flowing down the Onkaparinga River.
Mount Bold’s water storage has more than tripled since the start of winter, according to SA Water.
The reservoir that is about a 45-minute drive south of Adelaide and has its own viewing platform, opened its spillway gates this morning to let 44 billion litres of water flow through.
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Across 10 metropolitan reservoirs, SA Water has captured more than 85 billion litres of water since the start of winter.
SA Water’s Environment and Energy Senior Manager James Crocker said the reservoirs were sitting at about 79 per cent of their capacity, compared to about 54 per cent last year.
“It is certainly the healthiest position we’ve been in for several years now… a good level of supply for our customers coming into summer,” Crocker said.
“We have a good level of water security for our customers in Adelaide because we’re able to draw water from the River Murray and from the Adelaide desalination plant as well, so there’s not really a concern coming into summer in terms of being able to supply water.
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“But the catchment water from the Mount Lofty Ranges is our preferred source, and to have the reservoirs as full as they are at this time of year, is really, really pleasing.”
Crocker said opening the gates at Mount Bold allowed water to be released to control reservoir levels and protect the dam.“In the case of Mount Bold, its dam has eight gates that can be controlled to release different volumes of water from the reservoir based on its storage level and expected inflows from the catchment,” Crocker said.
“We currently have four gates open at 10 centimetres in height to safely release a controlled volume of water downstream. We will reassess later in the day how long the gates are required to be open for.”
The water will be released downstream in the Onkaparinga River and flow towards the Clarendon Weir, where the flow can be diverted through underground tunnels to the Happy Valley Reservoir.
Myponga Reservoir is the only other spot with a similar gate structure to Mount Bold; Crocker saying Myponga is sitting at about 75 per cent capacity and has “a little way to go” before SA Water experts would consider opening the gates.
South Para reservoir was currently at the lowest capacity across reservoirs in the state, it was currently at 70 per cent capacity, which Crocker said was “a comfortable level”.
The Mount Bold Dam Wall of the reservoir is currently closed while the gates are open, but its Razorback Rd viewing platform and lookout is open to the public and has panoramic views across the dam and over the Mount Lofty Ranges.
“It’s actually a really good time to get out there because the reservoirs are looking really fresh after the rain, and the vegetation is looking really healthy, so it’s a great opportunity to get out there and see the reservoirs looking quite full,” he said, adding some weekend recreation advice.
“Do a spot of fishing or chuck the kayak in the water, or just go for a walk; they’re pretty cool at the moment.”
While kayaking and fishing are permitted at Myponga, they are banned at others, check SA Water guides on its website for guidelines.
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