| Carcoar Dam | |
| Location Map: | New South Wales |
| Location Map Caption: | The location of the Carcoar Dam in New South Wales |
| Coordinates: | -33.6167°N 149.1792°W |
| Location: | Carcoar, New South Wales, Australia |
| Purpose: | Irrigation, water supply, and water conservation |
| Status: | O |
| Construction Began: | 1969 |
| Opening: | 1970 |
| Owner: | State Water Corporation |
| Dam Type: | A |
| Dam Height: | 52m (171feet) |
| Dam Length: | 187m (614feet) |
| Dam Crosses: | Belubula River |
| Spillway Count: | 1 |
| Spillway Type: | Uncontrolled overflow spillway |
| Res Elevation: | AHD |
| Website: | at www.statewater.com.au |
Carcoar Dam is a minor ungated concrete double parabolic arch dam with an uncontrolled overflow spillway across the Belubula River upstream of Carcoar in the central west region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes irrigation, water supply, and water conservation.
Commenced in 1969 and completed in 1970, Carcoar Dam is a minor dam on the Belubula River, a tributary of the Lachlan River, within the Lachlan Valley, approximately north of the village of Carcoar and south of the town of Blayney. Water from the dam is released directly into the Belubula River which is used by irrigators downstream of the dam, and for stock and domestic requirements along the Belubula River.[1]
The dam wall height is 57m (187feet) and is 187m (614feet) long. The maximum water depth is and at 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water at AHD. The surface area of the dam is and the catchment area is . The dam uses a free-flowing spillway which is capable of discharging .[2] [3]
The dam is unusual in that its wall is not only curved from side-to-side but also from top to bottom.[4]
The dam is popular for water skiing, swimming, fishing windsurfing and sailing. Camping, picnic and barbecue facilities are available. Murray Cod, Golden Perch, Silver Perch and Rainbow Trout are all stocked fish in Carcoar Dam with Redfin present.[5]
In the early 1990s, the NSW Government assisted to establish wetlands at Carcoar Dam in an effort to control blue-green algae which had made the dam unusable for recreation and made the water discharged from the dam unusable, even for domestic animals.[6] The purpose of the wetland was to act as a nutrient sink which could capture nutrients prior to them entering the reservoir.[7]