State Water Corporation has awarded a contract to strengthen the southern training wall at Hume Dam to McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd.

State Water program director Mel Jackson said a mass concrete buttress would be constructed against the southern training wall, downstream of the spillway.

“Essentially the buttress will provide greater support to the embankment to enable it to better withstand extreme floods and earthquakes,” Mr Jackson said.

The concrete buttress is the second stage of a $60 million program of works to improve the structure’s capacity to handle extreme events and to ensure compliance with contemporary best practice.

The project is funded by the governments of Australia, NSW, Victoria and South Australia through the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and is being managed by State Water Corporation.

The detailed design for the buttress was completed by URS Australia.

The buttress follows the recently completed first stage of the upgrade which involved installing a new filter and drainage system at the junction between the concrete spillway section and southern embankment.

Construction work on the concrete buttress is scheduled to commence in November and is expected to take approximately two years to complete.

Pedestrian access across the spillway will remain closed during construction for public safety; however access to the existing viewing platform will not be affected.

The upgrade will not affect the storage capacity or outflows from the dam.

-ENDS

Media enquiries and interviews
Jane Urquhart – State Water.
(02)6841 2087 or 0429 449 711