A tucked-away Gippsland gem, Southern Rural Water’s Lake Narracan plays a critical role in the region’s water security.
Nestled on the Latrobe River – 10km east of Moe in Gippsland – Lake Narracan supplies water for electricity generation, supports local irrigation and is a popular water-skiing location.
Southern Rural Water Manager of Headworks Operations, Ed Smith, said around 550ML is released each day from Lake Narracan to meet the utility’s bulk entitlements. These large water orders meet customer, community and environmental requirements.
“We ensure passing flow requirements are met at critical points along the Latrobe River downstream of the lake, such as 350ML per day at Thom’s Bridge,” Mr Smith said.
“We provide a small volume to Gippsland Water to treat for household use in local communities.
“We also regulate flows into Yallourn Weir, which provides up to 200ML per day for the Loy Yang and Yallourn coal-fired power stations, generating a significant portion of Victoria’s electricity.”
In addition to bulk entitlements, Lake Narracan provides water for local communities and irrigators with take and use licences to pump water from the Latrobe River for food and fibre production.
The Narracan dam was constructed between 1959 and 1961. Around 5.5km long and with a storage capacity of 7230ML, Lake Narracan is concrete gravity dam with a spillway of four vertical lift gates and a penstock gate.
The spillway gates allow a discharge of large flows during floods. The penstock gate is used to pass low and normal flows to meet water orders.
“With combined inflows from the Latrobe and Tanjil rivers, and multiple creeks, storage levels can rise really quickly,” Mr Smith said.
“Ensuring the safety and integrity of the structure demands precision and 24-hour vigilance.”
Southern Rural Water said its storage operators play a critical role in managing water flow.
“In addition to site maintenance and upkeep, our operators monitor river conditions closely – responding to alarms to adjust releases and maintain compliance with flow targets,” Mr Smith said.
“It’s a rewarding job that demands real-time decision-making and technical expertise.”
Featured image: View from a drone looking down over the Narracan dam wall. Image: Southern Rural Water
