Carcoar Dam is a minor ungated concrete double parabolic arch dam with an uncontrolled overflow spillway across the Belubula River upstream of Carcoar in the central west region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes irrigation, water supply, and water conservation.

Location and features

Commenced in 1969 and completed in 1970, Carcoar Dam is a minor dam on the Belubula River, a tributary of the Lachlan River, within the Lachlan Valley, approximately 6 km north of the village of Carcoar and south of the town of Blayney. Water from the dam is released directly into the Belubula River which is used by irrigators downstream of the dam, and for stock and domestic requirements along the Belubula River. The dam wall height is 57 m and is 187 m long. The maximum water depth is 41 m and at 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 36400 ML of water at 720 m AHD. The surface area of the dam is 385 ha and the catchment area is 230 km2. The dam uses a free-flowing spillway which is capable of discharging 1218 m3/s. The dam is unusual in that its wall is not only curved from side-to-side but also from top to bottom. The dam is popular for water skiing, swimming, fishing windsurfing and sailing. Camping, picnic and barbecue facilities are available. Murray Cod, Golden Perch, Silver Perch and Rainbow Trout are all stocked fish in Carcoar Dam with Redfin present.

Carcoar wetland

In the early 1990s, the NSW Government assisted to establish wetlands at Carcoar Dam in an effort to control blue-green algae which had made the dam unusable for recreation and made the water discharged from the dam unusable, even for domestic animals. The purpose of the wetland was to act as a nutrient sink which could capture nutrients prior to them entering the reservoir.

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