Lower Dam, referred to as ‘the dam’, it was later called ‘Lower Dam’ because Morton Dam was built further upstream. Photo Circa 1884.
This site was chosen in 1878 and construction began the same year. Completed in 1884, this dam stood as one of the oldest in the country and served as a crucial water supply for Wellington until the 1950s. Included was 27km of pipeline to Wellington City.
The concrete dam facilitated the conveyance of water to Karori, a Wellington suburb that housed a smaller dam. By 1887, the implementation of the Wainuiomata Scheme yielded an output of 176 liters per day, meeting the water needs of approximately 26,000 individuals.
The dam featured a unique design, standing at 10 meters tall and comprising an earthfill embankment. What set it apart was its almost vertical concrete wall on the upstream side, a characteristic not commonly seen in similar structures. Additionally, it had an overflow spillway situated in the former river channel on its left abutment. Another distinctive aspect of this dam was the exceptionally wide crest width of its earthfill embankment, deviating from the norm for dams of its kind. The combination of the near-vertical concrete wall on the upstream face and the unusually broad crest width underscored its atypical design.
