Atkinson Dam

The Atkinson Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam across the Buaraba Creek and a naturally forming lagoon, which is located near Lowood in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for irrigation of farming land in the lower Lockyer Valley. The resultant reservoir is called Lake Atkinson.

Atkinson Dam
Atkinson Dam wall
Location of the Atkinson Dam
in Queensland
CountryAustralia
LocationSouth East Queensland
Coordinates27°25′42″S 152°26′39″E
PurposeIrrigation
StatusOperational
Opening date1970
Operator(s)SEQ Water
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment dam
ImpoundsBuaraba Creek
Height9 m (30 ft)
Length2,088 m (6,850 ft)
Dam volume74×10^3 m3 (2.6×10^6 cu ft)
SpillwaysOne
Spillway typeUncontrolled
Spillway capacity439 m3/s (15,500 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
CreatesLake Atkinson
Total capacity30,500 ML (1,080×10^6 cu ft)[1][2]
Catchment area32.72 km2 (12.63 sq mi)
Surface area556 ha (1,370 acres)
Maximum length4.2 km (2.6 mi)
Maximum width2.5 km (1.6 mi)
Maximum water depth9 m (30 ft)
Normal elevation65.7 m (216 ft)
Website
www.seqwater.com.au

Location and features

Located in the locality of Atkinsons Dam, 22 kilometres (14 mi) northeast of Gatton in the Somerset Region local government area of West Moreton region, the dam wall was constructed in 1970 over the natural Atkinsons Lagoon.[3]

The dam wall is 9 metres (30 ft) high and 2,088 metres (6,850 ft) long and holds back 30,500 megalitres (6,700×10^6 imp gal; 8,100×10^6 US gal) of water when at full capacity. The surface area of the reservoir is 556 hectares (1,370 acres) and the catchment area is 32.72 square kilometres (12.63 sq mi). The uncontrolled spillway has a discharge capacity of 439 cubic metres per second (15,500 cu ft/s).[2][4]

The dam is connected to Seven Mile Lagoon via a 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) channel. Facilities at the dam include two boat ramps, picnic tables and two caravan parks. A maximum of 15 boats are permitted on the lake at any one time.[5] In mid-2006 the dam was empty due to drought conditions in Australia.[6]

Fishing

Fish stocking of silver perch, bass, southern saratoga and golden perch 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.[5] Other fish that are present includes eel-tailed catfish and spangled perch.

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See also

References
  1. "Sunwater Current Water Storage Information". Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  2. "Atkinson Dam". Water supply: Dams & weirs. SEQ Water. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  3. "Atkinsons Dam". Sweetwater Fishing. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  4. "Register of Large Dams in Australia" (Excel (requires download)). Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  5. Harrison, Rod; James, Ernie; Sully, Chris; Classon, Bill; Eckermann, Joy (2008). Queensland Dams. Bayswater, Victoria: Australian Fishing Network. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-1-86513-134-4.
  6. Williams, Brian (11 June 2006). "Tiny trickle sparks torrent". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 21 April 2008.

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