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Borumba Dam

Field	Value
name	Borumba Dam
image	Borumba Dam on Yabba Creek, circa 1970.png
image_caption	Borumba Dam on Yabba Creek, circa 1970
location_map	Queensland
location_map_caption	Location of the Borumba Dam
in Queensland
coordinates
country	Australia
location	Wide Bay–Burnett, Queensland
purpose	Irrigation and potable water supply
status	O
opening	; upgraded in and
operator	SEQ Water
dam_type	E
dam_height	43 m
dam_length	343 m
dam_volume	402 e3m3
dam_crosses	Yabba Creek
spillway_type	Uncontrolled
spillway_capacity	3140 m3/s
res_name	Lake Borumba
res_capacity_total	45952 ML
res_catchment	465 km2
res_surface	480 ha
website

in Queensland The Borumba Dam is a rock-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway located across the Yabba Creek, a tributary of the Mary River, in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The main purposes of the dam are for irrigation and potable water supply. The resultant impounded reservoir is called Lake Borumba.

Location and features

Constructed in 1964, Borumba Dam is a popular destination for recreational fishers. The dam wall is located about 11 km south west of Imbil.

The dam wall is 43 m high and 343 m long and holds back 45952 ML of water when at full capacity. The surface area of the reservoir is 480 ha and the catchment area is 465 km2. The uncontrolled un-gated spillway has a discharge capacity of 3140 m3/s. The second upgrade was intended to allow better management of extreme rainfall events.

According to a local councillor the spillway developed a crack after an earthquake on 1 December 1991.

In August 2021 the Queensland Government announced $22m in funding for analysis of a proposed pumped hydro-electric project, utilising a new dam built above Borumba Dam. It could store 2 GigaWatt of power running 24 hours, and may cost $14 billion.

In 2025, the Project was considered to be significantly over budget and delayed. The project's costs have surged from $14.2 billion to $18.4 billion, with a new completion estimate set no earlier than 2033, potentially extending to July 2035. This 2,000-megawatt facility aimed to power two million homes as a key component of the previous state government's renewable energy initiative. The revised costs and timelines have been attributed to steep increases in construction expenses and protracted approval processes. QLD Treasurer David Janetzki has criticised the previous administration for the financial and scheduling overshoots and is exploring smaller, more manageable project alternatives. Concerns about the project's environmental impact on the Mary River and surrounding ecosystems have also been raised, with calls for greater transparency and public access to project reports.

Recreation

A range of recreation activities are permitted at Borumba Dam including boating (powered and non-powered), canoeing and kayaking, water skiing and jet skiing, fishing, camping, and walking. Picnic and barbeque facilities are available.

Naturally occurring blue-green algae blooms sometimes mean Seqwater closes access to the dam's water for public safety purposes.

References

(2014). "Borumba Dam". [[Seqwater]].
Harrison, Rod. (2008). "Queensland Dams". Australian Fishing Network.
(2010). "Register of Large Dams in Australia". [[Australian National Committee on Large Dams]].
(16 June 2010). "Spillways step up for assessment". Global Trade Media.
(9 April 2008). "Borumba Dam upgrade won't include storage boost". [[ABC News (Australia).
Green, Glenis. (30 January 2007). "Fault line on dam site". [[The Courier-Mail]].
"Borumba pumped hydro project to take next step in partnership with community".
(10 July 2024). "New consultation round opened for giant pumped hydro project".
(4 December 2024). "Borumba Dam project delayed amid cost blowouts".
(13 January 2012). "Dam recreation shut down". The Gympie Times.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

reservoirs-in-queensland 1963-establishments-in-australia wide-bay–burnett mary-river-(queensland) dams-in-queensland dams-completed-in-1963 embankment-dams rock-filled-dams

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