page_title: Snowy Mountains Scheme
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Snowy Mountains Scheme / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: From the summit of Guthega, July 2011. Perisher ski resort, New South Wales, Australia.
context_page_description: The Snowy Mountains scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; one pumping station; and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that were constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Scheme was completed under the supervision of Chief Engineer, Sir William Hudson. It is the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia.
  The water of the Snowy River and some of its tributaries, much of which formerly flowed southeast onto the river flats of East Gippsland, and into Bass Strait of the Tasman sea, is captured at high elevations and diverted inland to the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers irrigation areas. The Scheme includes two major tunnel systems constructed through the continental divide of the Snowy Mountains, known in Australia as the Great Dividing Range. The water falls 800 metres and travels through large hydro-electric power stations which generate peak-load power for the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria.
context_section_description: Construction of the Snowy Scheme was managed by the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority. It officially began on 17 October 1949 and took 25 years, being officially completed in 1974.
  An agreement between the United States Bureau of Reclamation and Snowy Mountains Hydro to provide technical assistance and training of engineers was agreed between the USA and Australia in Washington, D.C. on 16 November 1951. A loan for $100 Million was obtained from the World Bank in 1962.
  Tunneling records were set in the construction of the Scheme and it was completed on time and on budget in 1974, at a cost of A$820 million; a dollar value equivalent in 1999 and 2004 to A$6 billion. Around two thirds of the workforce employed in the construction of the scheme were immigrant workers, originating from over thirty countries. The official death toll of workers on the Scheme stands at 121 people. Some 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) of roads and tracks were constructed, seven townships and over 100 camps were built to enable construction of the 16 major dams, seven hydroelectric power stations, two pumping stations, 145 kilometres (90 mi) of tunnel and 80 kilometres (50 mi) of pipelines and aqueducts. Just 2% of the construction work is visible from above ground.
  Two of the towns constructed for the scheme are now permanent; Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia; and Khancoban. Cooma flourished during construction of the Scheme and remains the headquarters of the operating company of the Scheme. Townships at Adaminaby, Jindabyne and Talbingo were inundated by the flooded waters from Lake Eucumbene, Lake Jindabyne and Jounama Reservoir. Improved vehicular access to the high country enabled ski-resort villages to be constructed at Thredbo and Guthega in the 1950s by former Snowy Scheme workers who realised the potential for expansion of the Australian ski industry.
  The Scheme is in an area of 5,124 square kilometres (1,978 sq mi), almost entirely within the Kosciuszko National Park. The design of the scheme was modelled on that of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Over 100,000 people from over 30 countries were employed during its construction, providing employment for many recently arrived immigrants, and was important in Australia's post-war economic and social development. Seventy percent of all the workers were migrants. During construction of the tunnels, a number of railways were employed to convey spoil from worksites and to deliver personnel, concrete and equipment throughout.
  The project used Australia's first transistorised computer; one of the first in the world. Called 'Snowcom', the computer was used from 1960 to 1967.
  At the completion of the project, the Australian Government maintained much of the diverse workforce and established the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), which is now an international engineering consultancy company. The Scheme is the largest renewable energy generator in mainland Australia and plays an important role in the operation of the National Electricity Market, generating approximately 67% of all renewable energy in the mainland National Electricity Market. The Snowy Scheme's primary function is as a water manager, however under the corporatised model must deliver dollar dividends to the three shareholder governments - the NSW, Commonwealth and Victorian Governments.
  The Scheme also has a significant role in providing security of water flows to the Murray-Darling Basin. The Scheme provides approximately 2,100 gigalitres (7.4×10¹⁰ cu ft) of water a year to the Basin, providing additional water for an irrigated agriculture industry worth about A$3 bn per annum, representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production.
  The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, is one of the most complex integrated water and hydro-electric power schemes in the world and is listed as a "world-class civil engineering project" by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The scheme interlocks seven power stations and 16 major dams through 145 kilometres (90 mi) of trans-mountain tunnels 
caption: Guthega Ski Resort was built above Guthega Dam
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