Burdekin Falls Dam Improvement Project

The Project

The Burdekin Falls Dam Improvement Project aimed to ensure the dam’s long-term viability by:

• increasing its resilience to extreme weather events
• bringing it in line with modern engineering design standards
• ensuring it meets the safety requirements set out in the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (Qld).

The project scope would follow the Foundation Drainage Improvement Project, which was completed in 2017. This second, larger project aimed to evaluate, determine and implement the most efficient scope of works to ensure the long-term viability of the dam. Specifically, it would focus on developing innovative techniques for the management of large catchment systems.

Sunwater prepared and submitted a detailed business case (DBC) to the Queensland Government which investigated options to meet the above objectives. The DBC also assessed the opportunity to raise the dam.

In December 2022 the Queensland Government approved the planning of a two-metre raise through the progression of an environmental impact statement (EIS).

While the proposed works for both the improvement and raising projects differ, the works required as part of the dam raising will also meet the safety requirements of the Dam Improvement Project.

Irrespective of whether a raising is approved, Burdekin Falls Dam requires a compulsory upgrade, and these safety improvement works will need to proceed. 

Further information and updates regarding the progression of planning for a dam raise through an EIS are available on the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising project page.

Why Burdekin Falls Dam requires an upgrade

Dams are long-life assets and require continual assessment, monitoring and maintenance.

Burdekin Falls Dam continues to perform as it should however, assessments have highlighted actions Sunwater needs to take to bring the dam in line with modern engineering design standards and ensure the asset remains safe and productive for years to come. More information on how we assess our dams as part of our overall portfolio of dam upgrades is available here.

Burdekin Falls Dam is not a flood mitigation dam, and no flood mitigation works are planned as part of the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising project.