Repairing the Dam
After the four floods the old spillway was severely eroded. Some of the gabions had broken up and fallen into the new ravine. The side walls had collapsed and concrete overlays had collapsed. A complete rethink was necessary and advice was sort from Irrigation Tasmania and visits to Enstone Park to see similar spillway reparation work as well as input from others helped us come up with a new strategy. Maccaferri information was very thorough not only on how to lay the fabric but also how to best fill the gabions and the mattresses. Although I had used gabions before this was the first time with the mattresses. Craig Cox from C&D Excavations did a marvellous job in reshaping the valley and filling the baskets and mattresses. Ultimately it was his practical experience which made the job go very smoothly. We were fortunate in obtaining his services as the demand for excavators was very high. The main excavation work and setting up and filling the gabions and mattresses was done over the Easter weekend starting on Easter Friday. Not a day that one would normally be working but beggars can’t be choosers. To finish tying up the gabions and cemented the top section (first fall) took another weeks labour.