How does the Snowy hydro scheme work for kids?
The Snowy Mountains Scheme collects water from melting snow and rainfall in the mountains. There the water is used by power stations to generate electricity. Then the water flows to the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers to irrigate farms on the dry inland plains of New South Wales and Victoria.
What type of work did they do in the Snowy Mountain Scheme?
The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme was one of the most complex engineering projects in the world. Between 1949 and 1974 the workforce built seven power stations, 16 dams, 80 kilometres of aqueducts and 145 kilometres of tunnels as well as 1600 kilometres of roads and train tracks.
What impact has the Snowy scheme had on the environment?
Rivers in the Snowy Mountains Scheme have been impacted by physical barriers including large dams, weirs and smaller diversion structures, and the loss of flow events that allow aquatic animals to move over natural barriers.
What were the conditions like in the Snowy Mountain Scheme?
Because ninety-eight per cent of the Scheme was underground, there was a lot of tunnelling, often through solid granite rock. Work in the tunnels was dirty, wet, noisy, smelly and dangerous. Living conditions were also hard in the camps and towns built in the mountains to house the workers and their families.
How much power does the Snowy Mountain Scheme produce?
4,500 gigawatt-hours
The nine Snowy power stations comprise 33 turbines with a total generating capacity of 4,100 megawatts (MW) and produce on average, 4,500 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity each year. The Scheme’s infrastructure also includes the Jindabyne Pumping Station, completed in 1969.
How did the Snowy Mountain Scheme changed Australia?
Creating a multicultural Australia The Snowy Mountains Scheme provided opportunities for thousands of migrants to start a new life in Australia after the devastation of World War Two. In the post World War Two period, Australia was asked by the United Nations to accept 100,000 displaced Europeans.
How much electricity does the Snowy Mountain Scheme produce?
The nine Snowy power stations comprise 33 turbines with a total generating capacity of 4,100 megawatts (MW) and produce on average, 4,500 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity each year. The Scheme’s infrastructure also includes the Jindabyne Pumping Station, completed in 1969.
How did the Snowy Mountain Scheme impact Australia?
Creating a multicultural Australia The Snowy Mountains Scheme provided opportunities for thousands of migrants to start a new life in Australia after the devastation of World War Two. This included approximately 60,000 European displaced persons and migrants who were employed directly by the Snowy Mountains Authority.
How did the Snowy Mountain Scheme affected Australia?
Is Snowy Hydro bad for the environment?
It will lead to more than 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions during construction and the first 10 years of operation. It will convert extensive areas of national park into a construction site, with permanent damage over thousands of hectares and the destruction of habitat used by 14 threatened species.
Why was the Snowy Mountain Scheme attractive to migrants?
In the post-WWII period, it attracted migrant workers, who helped to change food culture in Australia. The additional water was expected to help treble the amount of food grown in the area. There were more than 100,000 people employed in the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
What is the Snowy Mountain Hydro Electric Scheme used for?
The Snowy Mountains Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in Australia. It diverts the reliable waters of the south-flowing Snowy River, westwards, beneath the Great Dividing Range, and in doing so provides electric power and additional water for the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers to be used for irrigation.
