{{short description|Hydroelectric development on the Pieman River, Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
'''Pieman River Power Development''' was a major 1970s and 1980s [[hydroelectric]] development of the [[Pieman River]] and its tributaries on the [[West Coast, Tasmania|west coast]] of [[Tasmania]].
==Development== The ''Pieman River Power Development'' was approved by the Tasmanian government in 1971, construction began in 1974 and it was completed in 1987.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Scanlon, Andrew |author2=Tasmania. Hydro-Electric Commission |title=Water power |year=1990 |publisher=[[Snowy Hydro|Hydro-Electric Commission (TAS)]] |isbn=978-0-7246-1683-1 |page=24 }}</ref>
The damming of the river was the subject of a struggle between conservation groups and [[Hydro Tasmania]], similar to [[Lake Pedder]] . The struggle went relatively unnoticed{{cn|date=April 2026}} on mainland Australia - and it was the proposed [[Franklin Dam]] issue that was to catch a much wider Australian audience, than the damming of the Pieman or [[King River, Tasmania|King River]]s.
The development included three power stations and five dams:- * [[Murchison Dam]]{{spaced endash}}impounded the [[Murchison River, Tasmania|Murchison River]] to form Lake Murchison; * Tullabardine Dam and Mackintosh Dam{{spaced endash}}impounded the [[Mackintosh River, Tasmania|Mackintosh River]] to form Lake Mackintosh, for the generation of hydroelectricity at the [[Mackintosh Power Station]] that was commissioned in 1982; * [[Bastyan Dam]]{{spaced endash}}impounded the Pieman River to form [[Lake Rosebery (Tasmania)|Lake Rosebery]], for the generation of hydroelectricity at the Bastyan Power Station that was commissioned in 1983; * [[Reece Dam]]{{spaced endash}}impounded the Pieman River to form [[Lake Pieman]], for the generation of hydroelectricity at the Reece Power Station that was commissioned in 1986 and 1987.
===Legacy=== It remains Hydro Tasmania's most successfully{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} multi-dammed catchment on the West Coast, and it was developed after the Upper Gordon Scheme (Lake Pedder) and was being completed in the era of the Franklin Dam controversy. It could be seen as the last major Power Development Scheme undertaken by the Hydro during its stage as an expanding dam-making enterprise. The King River and [[Henty River, Tasmania|Henty River]] developments that followed required specifically challenging engineering on the part of Hydro, but were smaller projects in duration.
== See also == {{stack|{{Portal|Renewable energy|Australia|Water}}}} * [[List of power stations in Tasmania]] * [[List of reservoirs and dams in Australia#Tasmania|List of reservoirs and dams in Tasmania]] * [[Hydro Tasmania]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite web |url=http://www.hydro.com.au/home/Tourism+and+Recreation/Pieman+Catchment/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204133432/http://www.hydro.com.au/home/Tourism+and+Recreation/Pieman+Catchment/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-12-04 |title=The Pieman Catchment |publisher=[[Hydro Tasmania]] }}
{{Energy in Tasmania}}
[[Category:Pieman River Power Development| ]] [[Category:Western Tasmania]] [[Category:Hydro Tasmania development schemes]] [[Category:1974 establishments in Australia]]