Water Supply
Cotter Dam was constructed in 1912 to serve the needs of the Canberra population at that time.
Bendora Dam was completed in 1961 and, as it was higher, water could flow by gravity from the dam to Mount Stromlo Water Treatment Plant, avoiding the high cost of pumping required for water from Cotter Dam.
A third dam on the Cotter River, Corin Dam, was completed in 1968.
Population projections showed that by 1979 the three existing dams on the Cotter River would not be able to cope with the increasing demand for water. A new water source was required and, after extensive investigations, a site was selected on the Queanbeyan River and Googong Dam was constructed.
The use of water from the Murrumbidgee River commenced in May 2007 from a location near the Cotter Pumping Station as a supplement to water from the ACT's depleted water storages.
The original Mount Stromlo Water Treatment Plant (WTP) was commissioned in June 1967. It contained facilities for the chlorination, fluoridation and pH correction of all water drawn from the Cotter River system.
The Googong Water Treatment Plant (WTP) was built in 1979 at the same time as
Googong Dam.