Warragamba Dam Hypothesis

Warragamba Dam is the primary reservoir of water supply for Sydney and the Blue Mountains as one of the largest domestic water supplies in the world. It is located 65 km west of Sydney CBD, as shown on the map. It was created by damming the Warragamba River after a population boom and a horrific drought in Australia after WW1. Building began in the late 1940s until it was completed in 1960. It took 1,800 workers and led to a town being built next to site, in order to house these workers. The dam covers a 75 km squared area, making it four times larger than Sydney Harbour. Everyday it provides water for 3.7 million people but with Sydney’s population growing water management is becoming for important.

Aims and Hypothesis

The aim of the study was to investigate how the Ascham communities uses water and their awareness and knowledge surrounding Sydney’s water supply and Warragamba Dam. It was hypothesised that the Ascham
Of the respondents, 97.6% were female and 96.5% were aged between 10-15 years. 56.5% of people surveyed lived in the Eastern suburbs. The researcher was incorrect in assuming that would know little about Sydney’s water supply. Of the 85 people that took the survey, 72.9% of respondents were aware where Sydney’s domestic water supply originated from Warragamba dam, as demonstrated in the graph below.

Overall, the group surveyed were aware or concerned by unsustainable water use.
When asked does the wasting of water concern you 45.9% answered yes, while 45.9% are somewhat concerned. 70.6% of respondents indicated they actively save water. Contrary to the results, the researcher speculated that most would be aware of the importance of water but would be negligent to actively save water. As displayed in the graph below, 44.7% strongly agreed that more should be done to promote water use and 41.2%