Cambewarra Dam Decommissioning

Published on 22 January 2026

Located off Tannery Road, Cambewarra Dam is a composite, concrete gravity and earth fill, embankment dam.

Originally commissioned in 1910 to supply water to the township of Nowra. The dam wall is 40m across and has a maximum height of 8.4m.

With the dam continuing to incur annual operational and maintenance costs for ongoing safety regulations, in 2020 Council elected to explore options for its decommissioning.

The four key components of the project include:

• the demolition of the concrete structure to ground level.
• removal of the earth embankment surrounding the reservoir.
• Construction of a new channel connecting the inlet of Cambewarra Creek to the dam wall.
• And, restoration of the site, including stabilisation and revegetation.

Work is scheduled for completion July 2025.