It took over 20 years (from 1949 to 1972) to complete and costed something like $9 billion in today's money (then A$820 million).
It consists of 16 major dams, 7 power stations, a pumping station, 225 km of underground tunnels, pipelines and huge artificial lakes, rivers and canal systems.
It changed Australia.
The idea was simple. Catch, store, convert and transport the melting snow from the Snowy Mountains in the state of New South Wales. After they captured the snow with those 16 dams, they then run the water through series of artificial pipelines and rivers to generate electricity along the way (7 power stations) and took the water for irrigation across 3 huge states (South South Wales, Victoria and South Australia).
The water used to run off into the Tasman sea but once they were able to capture it, they used it to fuel two rivers; the Murray River and the Murrumbidgee River using two major tunnels.
The Snowies
Somaliland can be inspired to catch its own rain water
(sorry had to laugh because the difference is just cajiib).
