The Parangana Dam is an earthen-faced rockfill embankment dam across the Mersey River, located south of Mersey Forest, in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Completed in 1968, the resultant reservoir, Lake Parangana, was established for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the Parangana Power Station, a run-of-the-river mini-hydro power station.
The dam, its reservoir, and the power station are owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
Dam and reservoir overview The rock-filled dam wall with a clay core is high and long. When full, Lake Parangana has capacity of and covers , drawn from a catchment area of . The single uncontrolled spillway is capable of discharging .
Water is fed into Lake Parangana after running through the Rowallan and Fisher power stations. After running through the Parangana mini-hydro power station, water travels approximately tunnels to the Lemonthyme Power Station which discharges into the River Forth. However, for environmental reasons, some water continues down the Mersey River. The station was built to generate energy from this environmental flow. As a result, the Mersey-Forth power development diverts the majority of water from the upper reaches of the Mersey from Lake Parangana to the River Forth.
On 2 March 2026, it was announced that the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation project officially commenced. The project will enable water to flow from the Mersey River, backed up by the Parangana Dam, to ensure farmers have water even in dry times. The project will add approximately of water to the scheme, and is expected to be completed by mid-to-late 2027, including the installation of more than of new and upgraded pipes; two pump stations (new and refurbished); a balance tank; and seventy water outlets for farms.
Hydroelectric power station The power station was commissioned in 2002 by Hydro Tasmania and is the only mini hydro electric power station in the MerseyForth run-of-river scheme that also contains seven run-of-the-river hydroelectric power stations. The Parangana Power Station has one Tyco Tamar Francis-type turbine, with a generating capacity of .
See also
List of power stations in Tasmania
List of run-of-the-river hydroelectric power stations
References
External links