Meadowbank Dam maintenance

Maintenance and outages

Across Tasmania, we manage 30 power stations, 54 major dams and thousands of kilometres of waterways. These incredible assets work together to power about 900,000 homes and businesses across Australia.

To keep this system working reliably, we run a rigorous program of monitoring and maintenance that is underpinned by our core principles of safety, sustainability and efficiency.

We understand that our maintenance work can sometimes interrupt how Tasmanians use and enjoy our land and waterways. Wherever possible, we schedule our works to minimise these impacts but protecting the public and our employees is our highest priority.
Meadowbank-Dam

Meadowbank Dam crest gate upgrades


Project introduction


At Meadowbank Power Station, the spillway is controlled by two crest gates that sit on top of the dam. These gates help to regulate the water level in Lake Meadowbank and protect the power station and surrounding community from floods.

With over 50 years of operation behind them, the hydraulic cylinders and control system that keep these gates working reliably need replacing.

This project will be technically complex and at times, hazardous for the team working under the gates. On a normal day, these two gates hold back approximately 60 million metric tonnes of water! 

We'll be taking a number of steps to reduce project risks. The work will be completed over the dry summer months and the level of Lake Meadowbank will be lowered between 2 and 6 metres. These measures will help protect the community and our workers in the event of a flood or station failure. They also help reduce the chance of the gates getting damaged during the testing phase, something which would lead to significant project delays.

Project timeline


This project will start in the workshop in late 2021. In early 2022, the team will move on-site to complete the Gate 1 upgrade. This work is expected to take 4 months. The following year, the team will come back to complete the Gate 2 upgrade.

This schedule has recently been amended to mitigate project impacts during the peak-use summer months. For a more detailed overview of the work we will be doing, please refer to our technical scoping document.

Meadowbank Dam gates upgrade timeline - 2021 to 2023

Listening to the community


We recognise that some of these safety measures will mean the local community will be impacted.

Our engagement team have started talking to the community and will be there to provide support and information throughout the life of the project.

Community feedback helps us understand how individuals are impacted by our activities and informs what we can do to avoid or minimise these disruptions.

Still have questions?


If you think you might be impacted by this work, or you have any questions about the project, please get in touch with our engagement team at engagement@hydro.com.au.