Dam Safety Upgrade Program
SunWater is undertaking a dam safety upgrade program to ensure the highest level of safety for our dams is maintained.
Our upgrade program will ensure our dams continue to be able to hold and safely release excess volumes of water during periods of extreme rainfall.
Prioritised Upgrades
A detailed assessment of SunWater (and its subsidiaries) dams was undertaken to determine a prioritised list of dams requiring upgrades. Dams were assessed on the following features:
- Current rainfall event capacity
- Affected populations
- Integrity of the dam structure under increased water loads
- Impact to provision of ongoing water supply during an extreme rainfall event
- The economic impact of the dam’s failure during an extreme rainfall event
Following this assessment, a prioritised upgrade program was developed.
Four dams were identified as the first to be upgraded over a five year period beginning 2005:
- Fred Haigh Dam near Gin Gin
- Bjelke-Petersen Dam near Murgon
- Borumba Dam near Imbil (transferred to Seqwater 1 July 2008)
- Tinaroo Falls Dam on the Atherton Tableland
Eleven SunWater dam spillways will be upgraded in the longer term:
- Kinchant Dam near Mackay
- Kroombit Dam near Biloela
- Fairbairn Dam near Emerald
- Callide Dam near Biloela
- Burdekin Falls Dam near Charters Towers
- Teemburra Dam near Mackay
- Leslie Dam near Warwick
- Boondooma Dam near Proston
- Wuruma Dam near Eidsvold
- Julius Dam near Mount Isa
- Eungella Dam near Mackay
Four SunWater dams do not require upgrading:
- Coolmunda Dam near Inglewood
- Peter Faust Dam near Proserpine
- Cania Dam near Monto
- Beardmore Dam near St George
Click here to view a map of SunWater's spillway capacity upgrade locations.
Fred Haigh Dam
The first stage of the upgrade was completed in September 2006. Identified as the highest priority upgrade, the top of the dam was raised by constructing a two metre high wall and providing a watertight gate to allow operational access to SunWater’s Monduran Pump Station. The second stage of the upgrade will be undertaken in the near future.
Bjelke-Petersen Dam
Identified as the second highest priority upgrade, work on the first stage commenced in February 2007 and was completed by October 2007. The main dam and saddle dam wall were both raised by 1.2 metres and the saddle dam wall was extended. The second stage of the upgrade will be undertaken in the near future.
Borumba Dam
Identified as the third highest priority upgrade, work commenced in April 2008 and was completed in March 2009. The Borumba Dam upgrade involved increasing the height of the dam wall by 1.6 metres, allowing the dam to hold excess water until it can pass safely through the spillway. Ownership of Borumba Dam was transferred from SunWater to Seqwater 1 July 2008.
Tinaroo Falls Dam
Identified as the fourth highest upgrade priority, construction commenced in March 2009 and expected to be completed late 2010. The upgrade to Tinaroo Falls Dam includes work on both the main dam wall and the saddle dam.
The main dam wall will be reinforced with the insertion of steel cable “anchors” within the wall and the addition of a concrete protection slab along the downstream base of the dam wall.
In addition to work on the main dam wall, the height of the saddle dam will be increased by 30cm and “filters zones”, designed to minimise damage caused by seepage during a flood event, will be placed on the downstream face.
Kinchant Dam
The safety upgrade of Kinchant Dam will involve an upgrade of the existing drainage system within the structure itself, together with the installation of additional drainage within and downstream of the foundation of the dam.
Also proposed is the strengthening of the structure by the addition of material on the downstream face of the embankment.
Upgrade Investigations will commence in the near future and construction of the Kinchant Dam Safety Upgrade will commence in mid 2011. The upgrade is expected to be completed early 2013.
Program Funding
The first four upgrades will be fully State government funded. Funding for the other upgrades will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Enquiries
For further information about SunWater's spillway capacity upgrade program, please see the related fact sheets or call SunWater on +61 7 3120 0000.