Located in remote north-west New South Wales, Boera Dam is the major structure regulating the flow of water through Toorale National Park and downstream into the Darling River.
In August 2021 AWMA were engaged by Pensar to design, manufacture, supply and install a series of actuated water control gates for the Boera Dam Upgrade, as part of The New South Wales Government’s $7.9m Toorale Water Infrastructure Project. This project involved replacing 130 year-old dam pipes with a modern, automated gate system that encourages safe fish passage and allows the isolation and regulation of flows through the Toorale National Park.
The new three-bay regulator and vertical slot fishway was designed in collaboration with project partners to allow safe, two-way fish passage and improved management of environmental flows.
The regulator structure consists of three aluminium LayFlat Gates, each measuring 2.4m wide x 3.0m high. A set of Segmented Stoplogs were also supplied to allow safe isolation of the LayFlat Gates for inspection and maintenance purposes. AWMA Sidewinder Gates control the bypass channel and fishway exit, whilst an AWMA ULF Penstock manages the fishway exit.
Given the site’s geographical isolation, a solar emplacement was installed to enable web-based remote operation of the gate actuators. The on-site, solar powered ‘control hub’, allows flow rates, along with upstream and downstream water levels to be electronically gathered, monitored and managed remotely.
Pensar Construction Manager, Jeremy Goodacre comments “Pensar choosing to engage with AWMA to undertake design, manufacture, supply and install of a series of actuated water control gates for the Boera Dam Upgrade, provided the Project with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this area.
AWMA’s design and manufacture all completed during Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown periods were completed professionally and on time, with AWMA providing Pensar constant assurance that works were progressing and being completed to a high standard of quality. This was then proven, during the installation and water trials, in an extremely remote location where the gates fitted the cast insitu structure and operated immediately to meet the maximum operating parameters required by the system.
The AWMA Team provided Pensar with exceptional support and high quality workmanship throughout the project to deliver one of the project’s key elements.”
In November 2022, Toorale Water Infrastructure Project won the award for Outstanding Waterway Management Project at the RBMS (River Basin Management Society) Awards.
Congratulations to project partners NSW Department of Planning and Environment, NSW Public Works, Toorale Joint Management Committee (which includes the NSW National Park and Wildlife Service and the Kurnu-Baakandji People), NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) and Alluvium Consulting.
