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Story: Water quality

Clyde Dam spillway

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Clyde Dam spillway

Water cascades down the Clyde dam spillway on the Clutha River in Otago. A major use of river water in New Zealand is for hydroelectric schemes – in 2007 more than 60% of the electricity supply came from this source.

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Otago Daily Times

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How to cite this page

Mike Scarsbrook and Kit Rutherford, Water quality – Water quality in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15514/clyde-dam-spillway (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mike Scarsbrook and Kit Rutherford, published 1 March 2009, updated 18 July 2016.