Ross River Dam

Not to be confused with Ross Dam.
Ross River Dam

Ross River Dam at night, with open floodgates, pictured in 2008.
Location of the dam wall in Queensland
Country Australia
Location southwest of Townsville, North Queensland
Coordinates 19°24′35″S 146°44′15″E / 19.40972°S 146.73750°E / -19.40972; 146.73750Coordinates: 19°24′35″S 146°44′15″E / 19.40972°S 146.73750°E / -19.40972; 146.73750
Purpose Flood control, water supply
Status Operational
Opening date 1971
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Embankment dam
Impounds Ross River
Height 34.4 metres (113 ft)
Length 8,670 m (28,440 ft)
Dam volume 5,085×10^3 m3 (179.6×10^6 cu ft)
Spillway type Controlled
Spillway capacity 674 m3/s (23,800 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Total capacity 803,565 ML (1.76760×1011 imp gal; 2.12279×1011 US gal)
Active capacity 233,187 ML (5.1294×1010 imp gal; 6.1601×1010 US gal)
Catchment area 750 km2 (290 sq mi)
Surface area 82,000×10^3 m2 (880×10^6 sq ft)

The Ross River Dam is a rock and eathfill-filled embankment dam across the Ross River, located in Townsville in northern Queensland, Australia. Built initially for flood control, the impoundment created by the dam serves as one of the major potable water supplies for the region.[1]

Location and features

The dam was constructed by Leighton Holdings[2] in 1971 for the purposes of flood mitigation and water storage. Following a 2007 upgrade of facilities, the dam has a capacity of 250,000 megalitres (8,800×10^6 cu ft) and an earth rock embankment 8.67 kilometres (5.39 mi) in length and 34.4 metres (113 ft) high. The reservoir has a catchment area of 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) with an controlled gated spillway. The reservoir has a current capacity of 233,187 megalitres (5.1294×1010 imp gal; 6.1601×1010 US gal) of water;[3] and can hold up to 803,565 megalitres (1.76760×1011 imp gal; 2.12279×1011 US gal) of water in flood mitigation.[4][5] When the dam gates open, water spills over into the Ross River. Visitors may view the dam from a viewing platform at Ross Park. The Ross Dam Pump Station supplies up to 232 megalitres (8.2×10^6 cu ft) of water to the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, where the water undergoes aeration, sedimentation, rapid sand filtration and chlorination treatment before being pumped to the reservoir where the water is distributed to Townsville.

At the base of the dam and on the banks of the Ross River is Ross Park, part of Riverway, with facilities for picnics or barbecues, as well as public toilets at this location.

Upgrade of the dam wall

The spillway gates have increased the dam's capacity by around nine percent, which is about 21,000 megalitres (740×10^6 cu ft) or four months extra supply of water. Three spillway gates span the 40-metre (130 ft) wide spillway. The upgrade was going to take until mid-2008 to complete unless rainfall delays construction, however it was completed ahead of time in late 2007. The cost was around A$115 million.

The dam's storage was temporarily reduced with the lowering of the spillway to make way for the new floodgates that have now been fitted.

Backup water can be supplied by pumping water from the Burdekin Dam if needed.

See also

References

  1. ↑ NQ Water (Upgrade project)
  2. ↑ Leighton Holdings history
  3. ↑ "Paluma and Ross River Dam Levels". Dam and Water Storage Levels. Townsville City Council. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Townsville Library on Twitter
  5. ↑ "Register of Large Dams in Australia" (Excel (requires download)). Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  6. ↑ NQ Water
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