snowy mountain scheme information report
The snowy mountain scheme is one of Australia’s biggest achievements of the 20th century. It delivers water from the Snowy Mountains to the dry inland Australia. The snowy mountain scheme also creates electricity with no pollution. The snowy mountain scheme is mainly located in the Kosciuszko national park in eastern New South Wales.
Why is the snowy mountain scheme considered an engineering wonder?
The snowy mountain scheme is considered an engineering wonder because it has sixteen giant dams, seven power stations and one pumping station. The snowy mountain scheme has 225km of tunnels, aqueducts and pipelines. The snowy mountain scheme is about 5124 square km big, but only 2% is visible of the whole snowy mountain scheme. This incredible construction didn’t take one day to build, it took twenty five years. This started in 1949 and finished in 1974. The Australian government spent $820 billion dollars on the snowy mountain scheme. It was hard work working on the snowy mountain scheme because 98% of the work was underground though solid granite.
Who were the people who worked on the snowy mountain scheme?
One hundred thousand men came from thirty different countries shortly after world war two to work on the snowy mountain scheme. Most of the workers were from Europe, they left their families to save money that they lost during world war two. 70% of all men who worked on the snowy mountain scheme were migrants that came to Australia. Overall 120 workers died in the snowy mountain scheme’s construction. All the international people helped shape Australia into such a multicultural place.
What are the snowy mountain scheme’s inputs?
The snowy mountain scheme uses one major input, water. The water is produced by the snow melting on the Snowy Mountains and lots of rain. All this water is stored in lakes, reservoirs and dams. Its stored high in the mountains so the water can fall and run into rivers without pumps, but using the force of gravity. This water is used to power turbines for hydroelectricity.
What are the snowy mountain scheme’s outputs?
The snowy mountain scheme has two major outputs, electricity and water. The water is used for irrigation for the farms and crops to use. The electricity is a fast and sufficient power source that creates no pollution. The electricity can be turned on in seconds using power lines, from any of the seven power stations. It is available across Victoria, the A.C.T and New South Wales.