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| 1942 - visit of Dr. Savage |
PLANNING AND DESIGN
The concept of an earth and rock fill dam was developed
by Alexander Kelso, Engineer of Water Supply, in 1939-40, when alternatives had to be found to the high cost of a masonry
dam like Maroondah and Silvan Reservoirs. Exploration and geological work began during World War II, but construction work
was delayed until 1947. The proposed dam was to be 240 feet high, impounding 30,000 million gallons, but no earth and rock
fill dam of such immense size had ever been attempted in Australia.
Dr J.L. Savage of the US Bureau of Reclamation
was invited to Melbourne as a consultant to the project, and Kelso developed the design. After Kelso's death in 1943, his
successor F.M. Lee submitted an amended design a half-mile further downstream, and the dam height was increased to 280 feet
to add another 10,000 million gallons and achieve a lower cost of construction per gallon.
It was further increased
to 293 feet and 40,000 million gallons before work finally began. In 1952 the Chairman reported that the dam would treble
the available water storage area under the Board's control.
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Please contact the author with any comments or reactions to this Project.
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