# Lake Echo Dam

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Dam and power station in Tasmania, Australia

Dam in Central Highlands, Tasmania

Lake Echo Dam Interactive map of Lake Echo Dam Country Australia Location Central Highlands, Tasmania Coordinates 42°13′00″S 146°38′22″E / 42.216759°S 146.639543°E / -42.216759; 146.639543 Purpose Power Status Operational Opening date 1956 (1956) Owner Hydro Tasmania Dam and spillways Type of dam Rock-fill dam Impounds Dee River; Harrys Creek Height 19 m (62 ft) Length 305 m (1,001 ft) Dam volume 160×10^3 m3 (5.7×10^6 cu ft) Spillways 1 Spillway type Controlled Spillway capacity 92 m3/s (3,200 cu ft/s) Reservoir Creates Lake Echo Total capacity 725,490 ML (588,160 acre⋅ft) Catchment area 100 km2 (39 sq mi) Surface area 4,069 ha (10,050 acres) Normal elevation 840 m (2,760 ft) AHD Lake Echo Power Station Coordinates 42°15′00″S 146°36′36″E / 42.25000°S 146.61000°E / -42.25000; 146.61000 Operator Hydro Tasmania Commission date 1956 (1956) Type Conventional Hydraulic head 168 m (551 ft) Turbines 1 x 32 MW (43,000 hp) English Electric Francis-type Installed capacity 32 MW (43,000 hp) Capacity factor 0.9 Annual generation 84 GWh (300 TJ) Website hydro.com.au [1]

The **Lake Echo Dam** is an earth-filled [embankment dam](/source/Embankment_dam) across the Dee River, part of the [Upper River Derwent](/source/River_Derwent_(Tasmania)) catchment, located in the [Central Highlands](/source/Central_Highlands_(Tasmania)) region of [Tasmania](/source/Tasmania), Australia. Completed in 1956, the resultant [reservoir](/source/Reservoir), Lake Echo, was established for the purpose of generating [hydro-electric power](/source/Hydro-electricity) via the **Lake Echo Power Station**, a [conventional](/source/Hydroelectricity#Conventional_(dams)) hydroelectric [power station](/source/Power_station)

The dam, its reservoir, and the power station are owned and operated by [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania).

## Dam and reservoir overview

The [earth-filled dam](/source/Earth-filled_dam) wall is 19 metres (62 ft) high and 305 metres (1,001 ft) long. When full, Lake Echo has capacity of 725,490 [megalitres](/source/Megalitre) (588,160 [acre⋅ft](/source/Acre-foot)) and covers 4,069 hectares (10,050 acres), drawn from a [catchment area](/source/Drainage_basin) of 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi). The single [controlled spillway](/source/Spillway#Types) is capable of discharging 92 cubic metres per second (3,200 cu ft/s).[1]

Lake Echo is one of the main headwater storages for the Dee Lagoon, Bradys, Binney, Tungatinah Lagoon and the Lower River Derwent catchments, releasing water to a further seven stations downstream.[2] Much of the lake is surrounded by steep-sided [eucalypt](/source/Eucalyptus) bushland. Access to the rocky shoreline is dependent on the draw-down of water for use in the power station. The lake is stocked with [brown trout](/source/Brown_trout) and [rainbow trout](/source/Rainbow_trout).[3]

## Hydroelectric power station

Part of the [Derwent](/source/River_Derwent_(Tasmania)) scheme that comprises eleven hydroelectric power stations, the Lake Echo Power Station is the first station on the Dee River section of the scheme. The power station is located aboveground on the shores of the Dee Lagoon formed below Lake Echo on the Dee River. Water is diverted from Lake Echo by a single 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi)-long flume and 700-metre (2,300 ft)-long canal. It then descends 168 metres (551 ft) through a single steel [penstock](/source/Penstock) to the station with a surge tower located midway along the penstock.[4][2]

The power station was commissioned in 1956 by the [Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS)](/source/Hydro_Tasmania) and the station has one [English Electric](/source/English_Electric) [Francis-type](/source/Francis_turbine) [turbine](/source/Water_turbine), with a generating capacity of 32 megawatts (43,000 hp). The station building houses a single alternator and the turbine has a fully embedded spiral casing and water flow is controlled via a straight flow main inlet valve and a relief valve designed to prevent spiral casing overpressure. The station output, estimated to be 84 [gigawatt-hours](/source/Kilowatt-hour) (300 [TJ](/source/Terajoule)) annually,[1] is fed to [TasNetworks](/source/TasNetworks)' transmission grid via an 11 k[V](/source/Voltage)/110 kV three-phase English Electric generator transformer to the outdoor switchyard.[4]

An upgrade of facilities at the station was completed in 2022 that included remote monitoring systems.[5]

## See also

- [Renewable energy portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Renewable_energy)
- [Australia portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Australia)
- [Water portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Water)

- [List of power stations in Tasmania](/source/List_of_power_stations_in_Tasmania)

- [List of reservoirs and dams in Australia § Tasmania](/source/List_of_reservoirs_and_dams_in_Australia#Tasmania)

- [List of lakes of Australia § Tasmania](/source/List_of_lakes_of_Australia#Tasmania)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ANCOLD_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ANCOLD_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ANCOLD_1-2) ["Register of Large Dams Australia-2015"](https://ancold.org.au/information-resources/dams-information/) ([Excel](/source/Microsoft_Excel). Requires download. Row 273). *[ANCOLD](/source/ANCOLD)*. January 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-hydro_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-hydro_2-1) ["Derwent: Lake Echo Power Station"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150706215712/http://www.hydro.com.au/energy/our-power-stations/derwent-0/lake-echo-power-station). *Energy*. [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania). Archived from [the original](http://www.hydro.com.au/energy/our-power-stations/derwent-0/lake-echo-power-station) on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Lake Echo"](https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/fisheries/waters-a-z/lake-echo/). *Inland Fisheries Service*. [Tasmanian Government](/source/Tasmanian_Government). n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-hydrotech_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-hydrotech_4-1) ["Lake Echo Power Station: Technical fact sheet"](https://www.hydro.com.au/docs/default-source/clean-energy/our-power-stations/power-station-fact-sheets/lake-echo-power-station-fact-sheet.pdf?sfvrsn=8fcc9b28_2) (PDF). *Derwent Catchment*. [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230617200118/https://www.hydro.com.au/docs/default-source/clean-energy/our-power-stations/power-station-fact-sheets/lake-echo-power-station-fact-sheet.pdf?sfvrsn=8fcc9b28_2) (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Lake Echo powers up following major overhaul"](https://www.hydro.com.au/articles/media-releases/lake-echo-powers-following-major-overhaul) (Press release). [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania). 2 December 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2026.

## External links

- ["Lower Derwent"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060919104834/http://www.hydro.com.au/home/Energy/Tasmanian+Hydro+Electric+Schemes/Catchment+Areas/Derwent+Catchment/The+Tributaries+-+the+Nive+and+Dee.htm). *[Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.hydro.com.au/home/Energy/Tasmanian+Hydro+Electric+Schemes/Catchment+Areas/Derwent+Catchment/The+Tributaries+-+the+Nive+and+Dee.htm) on 19 September 2006.

v t e Dams and reservoirs in Tasmania, Australia Central Highlands Arthurs Lake Catagunya Clark Cluny Lake Binney Lake Echo Liapootah Meadowbank Miena Pine Tier Repulse Wayatinah King Island Upper Grassy North East Briseis Cascade Clarence Curries River Duck Reach Weir Frome Monarch Mount Paris North West Guide River Henty Pet River White Spur Northern Augusta Cethana Devils Gate Ford Mackenzie Meander Paloona Parangana Rowallan Taylor No. 3 Trevally Wilmot South Craigbourne Flagstaff Gully Hall No. 2 Knights Creek Limekiln Gully Lower Reservoir Ridgeway Rileys Creek Risdon Brook Stanton South West Edgar Gordon Laughing Jack Scotts Peak Serpentine Western Anthony and levee Bastyan and levee Crotty Darwin Mackintosh Tullabardine Margaret Murchison Newton Reece Decommissioned Tolosa Park Category | List

v t e Energy in Tasmania Hydroelectric Derwent Butlers Gorge Catagunya Cluny Lake Echo Liapootah Meadowbank Nieterana Repulse Tarraleah Tungatinah Wayatinah Gordon-Pedder Gordon Franklin Dam controversy Mersey-Forth Cethana Devils Gate Fisher Lemonthyme Paloona Parangana Rowallan Wilmot West Coast King John Butters Lake Margaret Pieman / Anthony Bastyan Mackintosh Reece Tribute Yingina / Great Lake Poatina Tods Corner Trevallyn Others Huntsman Decommissioned Duck Reach Moorina Waddamana Waddamana B Wind farms Granville Harbour Musselroe Woolnorth Cattle Hill Huxley Hill (King Island) Natural gas Tamar Valley Decommissioned Bell Bay Organisations Alinta Aurora Powerco Hydro Tasmania Roaring 40s TasNetworks Former Transend Networks Interconnectors Basslink Planned Marinus Link Other Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator 2016 Tasmanian energy crisis List of power stations in Tasmania

v t e Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia Settlements Bronte Park Derwent Bridge Gretna Liawenee Miena Tarraleah Governance Lyons (federal) Lyons (state) Western Tiers (state) Central Highlands Council Meander Valley Council Mountains Artillery Knob King Davids Mount Olympus Du Cane Range The Acropolis Castle Crag Geryon Gould Ossa Thetis Cradle Cirque - Bluff Cirque Barn Bluff Cradle Smithies Cathedral Cathedral Great Western Tiers Ironstone Mother Cummings Quamby Bluff Pelion Range Pelion East Pelion West National parks Other conservation areas Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair Mole Creek Karst Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Walls of Jerusalem Central Plateau Conservation Area Interlaken Lakeside Reserve Rivers Derwent Lake Nive Meander Lakes Arthurs Bronte Great Mackenzie St Clair Dams Arthurs Lake Catagunya Clark Cluny Lake Binney Liapootah Mackenzie Meadowbank Meander Miena Pine Tier Miena Repulse Wayatinah Power stations Butlers Gorge Catagunya Cluny Fisher Lake Echo Liapootah Meadowbank Nieterana Poatina Repulse Tarraleah Tods Corner Tungatinah Wayatinah Decommissioned Waddamana Transport Lake Highway Lyell Highway Marlborough Highway Landmarks El Grande Horseshoe Falls Lady Barron Falls Overland Track Pelion Gap Russell Falls Waterfall Valley Hut other Central Highlands (bioregion) 2016 Tasmanian bushfires

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lake Echo Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Echo_Dam) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Echo_Dam?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.