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Bemboka water supply system

Information about the the Bemboka water supply system.

The following image shows the location of the Bemboka water supply system. The image shows the source from which water is extracted and the main components of the reticulation system including reservoir, chlorinator and pipelines.

A map of the Bemboka water supply system

Water source

  • Bemboka River

Water storage

Dams Image of Bemboka river.

There are no dam storages for this system.

Whilst not a dedicated storage for the Bemboka water supply system, Cochrane Dam, located approximately ten kilometres upstream of the Bemboka River intake, provides an important storage of water for the system, particularly during drought.

Cochrane Dam is operated by Eraring Energy. It is a 2,700 ML capacity on-stream dam operated primarily for hydroelectric power generation.

Releases from Cochrane Dam influence the flow in the Bemboka River and are particularly important during drought. Water NSW requires Eraring Energy to store 500 ML in the dam as “drought reserve” in September each year (800 ML in declared drought years) to ensure water can be released from the dam, flow downstream and provide a connecting flow of water to Kanoona, located approximately 45 km downstream of the dam. When drought reserve water is released from the dam, water extraction from the river is limited to Bemboka village, stock and domestic use, riparian rights and dairy wash down (ie. no extraction for irrigation of farmland).  The drought reserve, and associated water release regime during drought to provide a flow of water to Kanoona, serves Bemboka village well. 

System Operation

Water is pumped from the Bemboka River to the village reservoir. The water passes through a pre-filtration system and is dosed with liquid chlorine prior to the reservoir. Daily extraction volumes range from 0.05 to 0.5 megalitres (ML) per day.

The system at a glance

Towns/villages served Bemboka
Bemboka Bemboka River (pump station)
Off-stream water storages None
(On-stream water storage) Cochrane Dam (2,700 ML) located approximately 10km upstream of Council pump station, operated by Eraring Energy Not a dedicated water storage for the Bemboka water supply system, but an important storage that controls water releases to the Bemboka River during drought).
Licence entitlement – high security (ML/a) 66
Avg annual water extracted from water sources (ML/a) ~35
Maximum source extraction capacity (ML/a) ~100+
Estimated future (2030) avg annual water extraction needs (ML/a) ~55

 

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