# Pieman River Power Development

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Hydroelectric development on the Pieman River, Australia

**Pieman River Power Development** was a major 1970s and 1980s [hydroelectric](/source/Hydroelectric) development of the [Pieman River](/source/Pieman_River) and its tributaries on the [west coast](/source/West_Coast%2C_Tasmania) of [Tasmania](/source/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.[1]

The damming of the river was the subject of a struggle between conservation groups and [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania), similar to [Lake Pedder](/source/Lake_Pedder) . The struggle went relatively unnoticed[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] on mainland Australia - and it was the proposed [Franklin Dam](/source/Franklin_Dam) issue that was to catch a much wider Australian audience, than the damming of the Pieman or [King Rivers](/source/King_River%2C_Tasmania).

The development included three power stations and five dams:-

- [Murchison Dam](/source/Murchison_Dam) – impounded the [Murchison River](/source/Murchison_River%2C_Tasmania) to form Lake Murchison;

- Tullabardine Dam and Mackintosh Dam – impounded the [Mackintosh River](/source/Mackintosh_River%2C_Tasmania) to form Lake Mackintosh, for the generation of hydroelectricity at the [Mackintosh Power Station](/source/Mackintosh_Power_Station) that was commissioned in 1982;

- [Bastyan Dam](/source/Bastyan_Dam) – impounded the Pieman River to form [Lake Rosebery](/source/Lake_Rosebery_(Tasmania)), for the generation of hydroelectricity at the Bastyan Power Station that was commissioned in 1983;

- [Reece Dam](/source/Reece_Dam) – impounded the Pieman River to form [Lake Pieman](/source/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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] 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](/source/Henty_River%2C_Tasmania) developments that followed required specifically challenging engineering on the part of Hydro, but were smaller projects in duration.

## 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 Tasmania](/source/List_of_reservoirs_and_dams_in_Australia#Tasmania)

- [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Scanlon, Andrew; Tasmania. Hydro-Electric Commission (1990). *Water power*. [Hydro-Electric Commission (TAS)](/source/Snowy_Hydro). p. 24. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7246-1683-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7246-1683-1).

## External links

- ["The Pieman Catchment"](https://web.archive.org/web/20041204133432/http://www.hydro.com.au/home/Tourism+and+Recreation/Pieman+Catchment/). [Hydro Tasmania](/source/Hydro_Tasmania). Archived from [the original](http://www.hydro.com.au/home/Tourism+and+Recreation/Pieman+Catchment/) on 4 December 2004.

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

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