Cotter Dam

Cotter Dam was constructed in 1912 to serve the needs of the Canberra population at that time. Water was pumped from Cotter Dam to Mount Stromlo, from where it flowed by gravity to service reservoirs located around the city. The height of the dam was increased in 1951 to meet the needs of Canberra's growing population.

The Cotter Dam is currently being enlarged as part of ACTEW's water security projects. For more information visit the Enlarged Cotter Dam project page.

Storage Capacity: 3,856 million litres* fed from a 482 square kilometre catchment area which also contains the Bendora Dam and Corin Dam.

Top water level: 500.69m above sea level

Facts: Cotter Dam is a concrete gravity dam built in 1912 (height raised in 1951). Cotter Dam was not used for water supply for many years as sufficient water could be obtained from Bendora and Corin Dams which usually have better water quality and do not require pumping. In December 2004 ACTEW brought the Cotter Dam back into service in response to the ongoing drought.

* A review of reservoir volumes in 2005/2006 has resulted in ACTEW adjusting reported volumes. The change in volumes is a direct result of more accurate mapping methods used to determine volumes compared with methods used in the 1960s, when the previous volumes were calculated. A review of volumes of the Corin and Bendora reservoirs, effective 1 November 2005, has resulted in ACTEW adjusting the reported volumes from 75.4 gigalitres (GL) to 70.90 GL for Corin and from 10.7 GL to 11.54 GL for Bendora. A review of volumes of the Cotter and Googong reservoirs, effective 1 October 2006, has resulted in ACTEW adjusting the reported volumes from 4.7 gigalitres (GL) to 3.86 GL for Cotter and from 124.5 GL to 121.1 GL for Googong.

ActewAGL operate the water and sewerage assets on ACTEW's behalf. For more information visit www.actewagl.com.au