Country Australia Purpose Potable water supply Opening date 1963 (1963) Catchment area 69.7 km² Operator Seqwater | Location South East Queensland Status Operational Type of dam Gravity dam Inflow source Maroochy River Impound Maroochy River | |
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Dam volume 12×10^3 m3 (420×10^3 cu ft) Spillway capacity 1,420 m3/s (50,000 cu ft/s) Similar Cooloolabin Dam, Leslie Harrison Dam, Little Nerang Dam, Ewen Maddock Dam, Sideling Creek Dam | ||
The Wappa Dam is a mass concrete gravity arch dam with earth-fill abutments and an un-gated spillway across the South Maroochy River that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for supply of potable water for the Sunshine Coast region. The impounded reservoir is also called Wappa Dam.
Contents
Map of Wappa Dam, Queensland 4560, Australia
Location and featuresEdit
The dam is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north-west of Nambour.
Completed in 1963, the concrete dam structure is 24 metres (79 ft) high and 138 metres (453 ft) long. The 12-thousand-cubic-metre (420×103 cu ft) dam wall holds back the 4,614-megalitre (1,015×106 imp gal; 1,219×106 US gal) reservoir when at full capacity. From a catchment area of 69.7 square kilometres (26.9 sq mi) with a mean annual rainfall of approximately 1,700 millimetres (67 in) that includes much of the Maroochy River, the dam creates an unnamed reservoir with a surface area of 74 hectares (180 acres). The un–gated spillway has a discharge capacity of 1,420 cubic metres per second (50,000 cu ft/s). Initially managed by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, management of the dam was transferred to SEQ Water in July 2008 as part of a water security project in the South East Queensland region, known as the South East Queensland Water Grid. The accompanying water treatment plant is also managed by SEQ Water.
Recreational usesEdit
Recreational use of the lake and its surrounding bushland reserve is severely limited, with prohibited recreational activities including swimming, water skiing, diving, mountain biking, horse riding, canoeing and kayaking, camping, and bushwalking. Picnic facilities are available at four locations around the dam, with access prohibited outside of daylight hours.