The Atkinson Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam across the Buaraba Creek and a naturally forming

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

, which is located near Lowood in the South East region of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

of farming land in the lower

Lockyer Valley The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultiv ...

. The resultant

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

is called Lake Atkinson.

Location and features

Located in the locality of Atkinsons Dam, northeast of in the

Somerset Region The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, about northwest of Brisbane and centred on the town of Esk. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Esk and ...

local government area of West Moreton region, the dam wall was constructed in 1970 over the natural Atkinsons Lagoon. The dam wall is high and long and holds back of water when at full capacity. The surface area of the reservoir is and the catchment area is . The uncontrolled spillway has a discharge capacity of . The dam is connected to Seven Mile Lagoon via a channel. Facilities at the dam include two

boat ramp A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

s, picnic tables and two

caravan parks A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

. A maximum of 15 boats are permitted on the lake at any one time. In mid-2006 the dam was empty due to

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

conditions in Australia.

Fishing

Fish stocking Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake or ocean to supplement existing populations or to create a population where previously none exists. Stocking may be done for the benefit of commerc ...

of silver perch,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

, southern saratoga and

golden perch The golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua'') is a medium-sized, yellow or gold-coloured species of Australian freshwater fish found primarily in the Murray-Darling River system, though a subspecies is found in the Lake Eyre- Cooper Creek system ...

has resulted in an excellent fishery, although the dry periods, high evaporation rates and drawdowns for irrigation in summer, result in low water levels as well as oxygen depleted water which makes fishing much more difficult. Other fish that are present includes eel-tailed catfish and

spangled perch ''Leiopotherapon unicolor'', the spangled grunter or spangled perch is a species of ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. It is endemic to Australia. Description ''Leiopotherapon unicolor'' has a slender, oval shaped body whi ...

References

External links

Atkinson's Dam Fishing Information, Map, pictures & Water Level Gauge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson Dam Dams completed in 1970 Buildings and structures in Somerset Region Dams in Queensland Atkinson, Lake Earth-filled dams 1970 establishments in Australia Lockyer Valley Region

Location and features

Fishing

See also

References

External links