Fairbairn Dam is located 25 kilometres southwest of
EmeraldEmerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....
, in
Central QueenslandCentral Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
, almost on top of the
Tropic of CapricornThe Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It lies 23° 26′ 22″ south of the equator, and marks the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon...
line. Fairbairn Dam was constructed in 1972 across the
Nogoa RiverThe Nogoa River rises on the Carnarvon Range in the Carnarvon National Park in Central Queensland and flows in a north easterly direction. The river ends where it meets the Comet River north of Comet. From this point the river is called the Mackenzie River....
"Gap" creating
Lake Maraboon and is
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's second largest lake. Maraboon is the Aboriginal for "where the black ducks fly".
The primary purpose of Fairbairn Dam is for
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
. About 300 irrigators are supplied with water for cotton, citrus and other horticulture operations.
Fairbairn Dam is located 25 kilometres southwest of
EmeraldEmerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....
, in
Central QueenslandCentral Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
, almost on top of the
Tropic of CapricornThe Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It lies 23° 26′ 22″ south of the equator, and marks the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon...
line. Fairbairn Dam was constructed in 1972 across the
Nogoa RiverThe Nogoa River rises on the Carnarvon Range in the Carnarvon National Park in Central Queensland and flows in a north easterly direction. The river ends where it meets the Comet River north of Comet. From this point the river is called the Mackenzie River....
"Gap" creating
Lake Maraboon and is
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
's second largest lake. Maraboon is the Aboriginal for "where the black ducks fly".
The primary purpose of Fairbairn Dam is for
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
. 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 rampBoat ramps are areas where roads continue down into bodies of water so that boats on trailers can be backed into the water and launched....
.
History
On the 1 July 2003, cotton farmers 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
evaporationEvaporation is the vaporization of a liquid and the reverse, of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid state spontaneously become gaseous . Generally, evaporation can be seen by the gradual disappearance of a liquid from a substance when exposed...
rates had dropped levels to 12%.
On 18 January 2008 at around 12 noon, the dam overflowed (photo) for the first time in 17 years, due to heavy local rain. On 20 January 2008, around 48 hours later the water level was about 3.5 m over the spillway level (~156% full capacity). The water level peaked at about 4.5 m on 22 January 2008. A week before this rain event, the level saw the lake holding only 29% of full capacity. Downstream 2700 residents had to be evacuated due to flooding.
SunWaterSunWater is a company located in Queensland, Australia. The company supplies bulk water to over 6000 customers and water consultancy to a range of clients....
, the managing organisation for the dam, is undertaking a dam
spillwayA spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy the dam. Except during flood periods, water...
capacity upgrade program to ensure the highest level of safety for our dams is maintained. The spillway will be upgraded in the longer term.
Fishing
The dam has been
stockedFish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake, or the ocean to supplement existing populations, or to create a population where none exists...
with
barramundiThe Barramundi is a species of catadromous fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. The native species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Persian Gulf, through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia...
,
Mary River codMary River Cod are a Maccullochella cod found in the coastal Mary River system of southern Queensland, Australia...
,
southern saratogaThe southern saratoga is a species of fish in the Osteoglossidae family. It is endemic to Australia.-Description:...
,
bassBass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch." The collective name for a group...
and
silver perchSilver perch are a medium sized freshwater fish endemic to the Murray-Darling river system in south-eastern Australia. Their scientific name comes from an aboriginal name for the species — Bidyan — that Major Mitchell recorded on his 1832 expedition.Silver perch are the only major representative...
.
Eel-tailed catfishThe eel-tailed catfish, Tandanus tandanus, is a species of catfish of the family Plotosidae. This fish is also known as dewfish, freshwater catfish, jewfish, and tandan.-Distribution:...
, spangled perch,
red claw crayfishThe Australian red claw crayfish, also called Queensland red claw or just redclaw, Cherax quadricarinatus, is an Australian freshwater crayfish. It is found in permanent freshwater streams, billabongs and lakes on the north coast of the Northern Territory and northeastern Queensland. Populations...
, sooty grunter and
golden perchThe golden perch, Macquaria ambigua, is an Australian native freshwater fish, primarily of the Murray-Darling river system.The genus name for golden perch — Macquaria — derives from the Macquarie River where the first species in the genus was collected...
are additionally present. On the lake fishing is banned within 200 m of the dam wall, while below the ban extends for 400 m.