Boondooma Dam is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on the Boyne River on the boundary of Boondooma and

Proston Proston is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Proston had a population of 410 people. Geography The town is located north-west of the state capital, Brisbane northwest of th ...

in the

South Burnett Region The South Burnett Region is a local government area in the South Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. In the , the South Burnett Region had a population of 32,996 people. Geography The South Burnett Region covers an area , containing a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. From 1980 to 1983, the dam was constructed across the Boyne River below its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Stuart River, creating Lake Boondooma. It has a capacity of 204 200 ML under the of surface area and has an average depth of . The dam forms a narrow and deep lake, designed to avoid

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...

, with one fork containing much standing timber and another having many submerged rocky outcrops. The dam overflowed for the first time in May 1983. The lowest level recorded was 0.18% capacity in December 1982, and the maximum of 173.8% (6.17m over the spillway) was recorded in January 2013 as a result of heavy rain from ex Tropical

Cyclone Oswald Tropical Cyclone Oswald was a tropical cyclone that passed over parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia over a number of days, causing widespread impact including severe storms, flooding, and water spouts. Coastal regions of Queen ...

Water supply

It was built to supply water to the Tarong Power Station and as is the case at so many impoundments, takes its name from the original property in the area. The dam also supplies water to irrigate agricultural properties in the area. Typically, the dam supplies between 50 million and 80 million litres of water per day to Tarong Power Station. The dam was connected to the

Western Corridor Recycled Water Project The Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, a recycled water project, is located in the South East region of Queensland in Australia. The scheme is managed by Seqwater and forms a key part of the SEQ Water Grid constructed by the Queensland Gov ...

to ensure water levels would not interfere with

power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stora ...

in times of

drought A drought is a period of 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, ...

SunWater Sunwater is a statutory Queensland Government -owned corporation that supplies bulk water to over irrigation, industry and urban customers and water consultancy services to a range of institutional clients across regional Queensland, Australia ...

, the dam's managing authority, is undertaking a dam spillway capacity upgrade program to ensure the highest level of safety for dams under their jurisdiction is maintained. The spillway will be upgraded in the longer term.

Recreation

Since March 2001, camping and recreational facilities at the dam have been managed by the Wondai Shire Council, and since council amalgamations,

South Burnett Regional Council The South Burnett Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the South Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. In the , the South Burnett Region had a population of 32,996 people. Geography The South Burnett Regio ...

. Self-contained cabins, caravan sites and camping are all available by the lake. There are also multiple picnic grounds for day-trippers. Angling, swimming, sailing and water skiing are all popular activities at Boondooma Dam.

Fishing

The dam is stocked with

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

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, an ...

silver perch Silver perch is a common name for several fishes and may refer to: *'' Bairdiella chrysoura'', native to the east coast of the United States *''Bidyanus bidyanus The silver perch (''Bidyanus bidyanus'') is a medium-sized freshwater fish of the ...

and

barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer''), Asian sea bass, or giant sea perch (also known as dangri, apahap or siakap) is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Carangiformes. The species is widely distributed in the I ...

, while

eel-tailed catfish The eel-tailed catfish (''Tandanus tandanus'') is a species of catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Plotosidae. This fish is also known as dewfish, freshwater catfish, jewfish, and tandan. This species is a freshwater fish native to th ...

, and

bony bream Bony bream ''Nematalosa erebi'' are a widespread and common, small to medium-sized Australian freshwater fish often found in large shoals throughout much of northern and central Australia, and the Murray-Darling basin. Description A deep bodied, ...

are present naturally. A ''Stocked Impoundment Permit'' is required to fish in the dam.Fishing in Queensland dams? You may need a permit.
In 1993 and 1994, more than 60,000 barramundi were released into the dam, thought the furthest south that the species could survive. Limited numbers have been caught since, but greater success was achieved at locations closer to the coast of similar latitude.

Boating

The dam has two

boat ramp A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a Inclined plane, 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 ...

s and a boating permit is not required. There are no boating restrictions on the dam, however a no fishing/boating zone applies around the dam wall.

References

External links