Country Australia Status Operational Operator(s) SunWater Area 16.45 km² Length 12 km Catchment area 1,760 km² | Purpose Potable water supply Opening date 1968 (1968) Surface elevation 314 m Mean depth 4.3 m Width 5.9 km Catchment area 1,735 km² | |
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Location Darling Downs, Queensland | ||
Coolmunda dam yellowbelly fishing
The Coolmunda Dam is an earth–fill embankment dam with a gated spillway across the Macintrye Brook, a tributary of the Dumaresq River, that is located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The main purposes of the dam are for irrigation and potable water supply. The impounded reservoir is called the Lake Coolmunda.
Contents
- Coolmunda dam yellowbelly fishing
- Map of Lake Coolmunda Coolmunda QLD 4387 Australia
- Casting for coolmunda dam murray cod with spinnerbaits
- Location and features
- Recreational activities
- References
Map of Lake Coolmunda, Coolmunda QLD 4387, Australia
Casting for coolmunda dam murray cod with spinnerbaits
Location and features
The dam is located approximately 13 km (8.1 mi) east of Inglewood, just off the Cunningham Highway. Two smaller creeks, Bracker Creek and Sandy Creek, also provide inflows to the reservoir.
Completed in 1968 the earth–fill dam structure is 20 metres (66 ft) high and 2,826 metres (9,272 ft) long. The 690-thousand-cubic-metre (24×106 cu ft) dam wall holds back the 69,000-megalitre (15×109 imp gal; 18×109 US gal) reservoir when at full capacity. From a catchment area of 1,760 square kilometres (680 sq mi), the dam creates Lake Coolmunda at an elevation of 314.7 metres (1,032 ft) above sea level, with a surface area of 1,645 hectares (4,060 acres) at a maximum depth of 16.1 metres (53 ft) when at full capacity. The controlled spillway with radial gates has a discharge capacity of 6,860 cubic metres per second (242,000 cu ft/s). The dam is managed by SunWater.
Recreational activities
There is one boat ramp, three picnic areas with good facilities as well as a caravan park. Free bush camping by the lake was once permitted. In 2013, a new camping area was opened to the public.
There are no boating restrictions in place. Parts of the lake contain stretches of standing timber and along the northern bank there are submerged fence posts the demark a former creek bed.
Eel-tailed catfish and spangled perch are found naturally in the lake's waters and the Lake Coolmunda Restocking Group Inc. stocks it with murray cod, silver perch and golden perch. The introduced species european carp has also been found in the lake. A stocked impoundment permit is required to fish in the dam.