About Lake Nillahcootie
Location
Lake Nillahcootie is situated on the Broken River in north-eastern Victoria, 36km south of Benalla. The name Nillahcootie is of Indian origin and reputedly means ‘Blue House'.
History 
The storage was built in 1967 by the Rural Water Commission as part of a program to assure water supply in northern Victoria.
Operations
Lake Nillahcootie was constructed to harness the flows of the Broken River to meet irrigation, domestic and stock, and urban water supply requirements.
In previous years when Lake Nillahcootie was assured of filling to capacity, water could be released in accordance with a target volume determined for filling Lake Mokoan. This operation optimised water harvesting between the two storages and would normally occur during winter and spring months. With the decommissioning of Lake Mokoan, this will no longer be required in the future.
The main spillway at Lake Nillahcootie features a unique Gothic arch-shaped crest that allows the discharge of 117,000 ML/d - equivalent to the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool passing the spillway every two seconds.
The storage also features a secondary spillway that is operated only during severe floods. It uses the ‘fuse plug' principle, in which a section of earthen embankment within the secondary spillway (the fuse plug) has been designed so that at a predetermined flood level it will be eroded away and increase the discharge through the spillway.
Lake Nillahcootie Land and
On-water Management Plan
Goulburn-Murray
Water is currently in the process of developing The Lake Nillahcootie Land and
On-water Management Plan. This plan provides a strategic approach to management
of land and on-water issues at Lake Nillahcootie, including community awareness
and involvement, water quality, recreation and tourism, healthy ecosystems,
agricultural land use, planning and development and cultural heritage etc. The
Plan does not make recommendations on storage operational issues, including
storage filling and releases.
To find out more information see the Lake Nillahcootie Land and
On-water Management Plan webpage
Large Grassed Area
Car Parking
Boat Ramp
BBQ
Toilets
Lake Nillahcootie is situated on the Broken River , 36 km south of Benalla. The dam was built in 1968. The water stored is used for irrigation and stock supply.
