Following recent rainfall events and seasonal snowmelt inflows, Jindabyne Dam reached full supply level on Friday 28 October 2022 and commenced spilling into the Snowy River.
Dam safety is paramount at this time and spillway gates will operate automatically to regulate the inflows and pass them through to the Snowy River below the dam until the lake level falls below 100%.
Snowy Hydro expects high lake levels to remain and to continue releasing volumes in excess of the designated environmental release targets well into November.
Pre-releases of up to 5,000 megalitres per day from Jindabyne Dam into the Snowy River have been conducted since 4 October. This has helped in avoiding spills until now and will continue to reduce the peak of any subsequent flood events that may occur.
Snowy Hydro has been managing significant inflows throughout 2022. In the last three months there has been an increase in Eucumbene’s storage of 850 gigalitres, which is over 1.5 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour. Inflows to Jindabyne cannot be moved into Eucumbene and with significant flooding in all directions, excess inflows can only be passed into the Snowy River at present.
For the community the most important message is to stay safe and well informed. The public can stay updated about flood alerts here:
For more information about releases into the Snowy River visit
https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/generation/live-data/lake-levels/ and
https://dpie.nsw.gov.au/water/home
Snowy Hydro will continue to keep the community informed about management of water in Lake Jindabyne through its website and social media channels.