Located 26 km east of the City of Greater Bendigo, Lake Eppalock was constructed between 1960 and 1964 to provide irrigation supplies from the Campaspe River, and town water supply to Bendigo.
Geologically and topographically, it is an excellent dam site. The curved embankment, 700 metres long, stands 43 metres high and contains more than 800 000 cubic metres of earth and rock. Three spillways cater for the overflow: a concreted main spillway, which runs down to the Campaspe River, and two higher grassed spillways for exceptionally large floods.
Water released into the Campaspe River flows downstream to irrigators as far north as Rochester, 65 km away. Supplementary supplies are pumped from the river at Rochester into the Waranga Western Channel. Up to 27 400 ML a year of Eppalock water can be pumped into the channel for use by irrigators in the Rochester-Campaspe and Pyramid-Boort Irrigation Areas. A further 37 000 ML can be supplied to private diverters along the River and to the Campaspe Irrigation District south of Rochester.
Source: Wimmera Mallee Water website, ‘Goulburn Storages’.
Detailed map of the Kyneton (Little Coliban River)
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Detailed Map of the Kyneton (Little Coliban River) Catchment