The Fairbairn Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam across the

Nogoa River The Nogoa River is a river located in Central Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises on the Carnarvon Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, in the Carnarvon National Park and flows in a generally north easterly direction ...

, located southwest of in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

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. Constructed in 1972 for the primary purpose of

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 ...

, the impoundment created by the dam serves as one of the major

potable Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

water supplies Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

for the region and assists with some

flood mitigation In environmental engineering, the flood mitigation involves the management and control of flood water movement, such as redirecting flood run-off through the use of floodwalls and flood gates, rather than trying to prevent floods altogether. It a ...

. Lake Maraboon with an active capacity of was formed by damming of the Nogoa River, and, in 2008, was Queensland's second largest dam. Its capacity is approximately three times larger than Sydney Harbour. Maraboon is the Aboriginal for "where the black ducks fly".

Location and features

Commenced in 1968, the dam was engineered by Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority and completed in December 1972 for the purposes of irrigation and water storage. Storage of water commenced in January 1972 and the dam filled and overflowed for the first time two years later. The dam wall consists of a earthfill embankment in length and high. The

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 ...

has a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people ar ...

of with an uncontrolled concrete spillway capable of discharging . The reservoir has an active capacity of of water; When the dam spills over it flows into the Nogoa River. About 300 irrigators are supplied with water for cotton, citrus and other horticulture operations. The dam is relatively shallow with large areas of standing timber. There are no boating restrictions and one concrete

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 ...

. Water from the Fairbairn Dam is released down the Nogoa River to the Selma Weir for supply to the town of Emerald. Supplies are diverted by pipelines to the towns of

Blackwater Blackwater or Black Water may refer to: Health and ecology * Blackwater (coal), liquid waste from coal preparation * Blackwater (waste), wastewater containing feces, urine, and flushwater from flush toilets * Blackwater fever, an acute kidney disea ...

, Bluff, Tieri, Dysart and Middlemount. Water from the dam also supplies coal mining developments on the Bowen Basin. The dam and reservoir are operated by

SunWater Sunwater, the trading name of Sunwater Limited, is a statutory Queensland Government -owned corporation that supplies bulk water to over customers and water consultancy services to a range of institutional clients in the Wide Bay–Burnett and ...

. A 50th birthday celebration for the dam is being held on Saturday 21 May 2022 sponsored by Sunwater and the Central Highlands Regional Council.

Water storage levels

In July 2003, cotton farmers who were reliant on the dam for irrigation had their water allocation cut by 75%. In November 2006, the dam had reached its lowest level ever—just 14% of total capacity. Over that summer low inflows and high evaporation rates had dropped levels to 12%. On 18 January 2008 water in the reservoir overflowed the dam spillway for the first time in 17 years, due to heavy local rain. Within 48 hours, the water level was about over the spillway level, or 156% of active capacity. The water level peaked at about on 22 January 2008. Downstream 2,700 residents had to be evacuated due to flooding. Seven days earlier, the lake was operating at 29% of full capacity. On 30 December 2010 during the

2010–11 Queensland floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, the Fairbairn Dam reached a peak of , or 176% of active capacity, with a reservoir elevation of . Water was recorded at above the spillway. Dam capacities in Australia are frequently compared with the capacity of Sydney Harbour which holds approximately . This would make the dam approximately 3 times the storage of Sydney Harbour in normal conditions and 4 times in extreme flood. On 29 December 2019 the Fairbairn Dam was at 9.6% capacity, the previous record low capacity was in December 2006 at 11.8%. In December 2019 the Central Highlands Regional Council made the decision to stay on level 1 water restrictions whilst they were undertaking a review of their trigger levels for water restrictions. A record low of 7.39% was reached in 2020. In late 2022, the dam reached 40% of capacity, allowing farmers to access full water allocations.

Fishing

The lake has been stocked with

barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, Sou ...

, Mary River cod, southern saratoga,

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 gui ...

and

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'', endemic to Australia *''Leiopotherapon plumbeus ''Leiopotherapon plumbeus'', know ...

. Eel-tailed catfish, spangled perch, red claw crayfish, sooty grunter 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 ...

Georgia fish are additionally present. On the lake fishing is banned within of the dam wall, while below the ban extends for .

References

{{WaterQueensland , state=autocollapse Reservoirs in Queensland Buildings and structures in Central Queensland Dams in Queensland Embankment dams 1972 establishments in Australia Dams completed in 1972 Floods in Queensland

Location and features

Water storage levels

Fishing

See also

References