Country Australia Status Operational Type of dam Embankment dam Catchment area 49 km² Operator Seqwater | Location South East Queensland Opening date 1965 (1965) Mean depth 6 m Create Lake MacDonald | |
 | ||
Purpose Potable water supply
Recreation | ||
The Six Mile Creek Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Six Mile Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purposes of the dam are for potable water supply of the Sunshine Coast region and for recreation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Macdonald.
Contents
Location and features
The dam is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Cooroy and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Noosa. The small settlement of Lake MacDonald is located adjacent to the dam. The primary inflow of the reservoir is Six Mile Creek.
Completed in 1965, the rock and earthfill dam structure is 15.7 metres (52 ft) high and 490 metres (1,610 ft) long. The 69-thousand-cubic-metre (2.4×106 cu ft) dam wall holds back the 8,018-megalitre (1.764×109 imp gal; 2.118×109 US gal) reservoir when at full capacity. From a catchment area of 49 square kilometres (19 sq mi) that includes much of the Tewantin State Forest, the dam creates Lake Macdonald, with a surface area of 260 hectares (640 acres). The uncontrolled un-gated spillway has a discharge capacity of 750 cubic metres per second (26,000 cu ft/s). Initially managed by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, management of the dam was transferred to Seqwater in July 2008.
Recreational activities
Within proximity of the dam, horse riding, boating and canoeing are permitted. The Noosa Botanic Gardens are located on the northwestern shoreline of Lake Macdonald.
The reservoir is stocked with Mary River cod, bass, yellowbelly, saratoga and snub nosed gar with endemic populations of tandans (eel tailed catfish) and the introduced spangled perch. A stocked impoundment permit is required to fish in the dam.