Lake Narracan

The Lake Narracan is a reservoir in the course of the Latrobe River, which was built as a cooling water reservoir for the nearby lignite-fired power plants.

Location

The Lake Narracan is located on Latrobe River in the Latrobe Valley. The dam is located approximately 1.5 km upstream of the Yallourn Power Station. The upper end of the reservoir is about 6 km to the west near the mouth of the Narracan Creek in the Latrobe River. The lake was also called Yallourn Storage Dam.

History

The reservoir was built in the years 1959-1961 from the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and has a capacity of 8.6 million m³.

2002 extensive renovations were carried out to bring the reservoir back to the prior art. Here also the dam was better anchored in the supporting rock and the four gates were reinforced.

Purpose

The reservoir is important for the provision of cooling water for power stations in the Latrobe Valley. Another dam, the Blue Rock Lake, about 15 km upstream on the River Tanjil increases the volume available.

Activities

The Lake Narracan also serves as a recreation area water sports such as water skiing, jet skiing, swimming, fishing and hiking along the banks. A school camp ( Woorabinda ) on the north bank is designed for approximately 75 children. On the south shore lies a small tent and caravans. The Latorbe Valley Model Aero Club ( model airplane club) is also located on the lakeshore. The railway line from Moe Yallourn after running along the southern shore.

The Lake Narracan is the largest freshwater lake in Victoria, which is not used for drinking water storage.