18-766: The Burdekin Falls Dam , also known as the Burdekin Dam , is a concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Burdekin River in the Whitsunday Region , Queensland , Australia. Built for the purpose of irrigation , the reservoir is called Lake Dalrymple , and is on the boundary of the Whitsunday Region and the Charters Towers Region . Burdekin Falls Dam is managed by SunWater . Water from
36-499: A large part of the land in one section of a river, allowing water to fill the space and be stored. Once the land has been cut away, the soil has to be tested to make sure it can support the weight of the dam and the water. It is important to make sure the soil will not erode over time, which would allow the water to cut a way around or under the dam. Sometimes the soil is sufficient to achieve these goals; however, other times it requires conditioning by adding support rocks which will bolster
54-461: Is required to fish in the dam. Red-claw crayfish and freshwater crocodiles although not native to this river may also found in the lake. These were probably released by people who caught them from rivers of the Gulf of Carpentaria . Saltwater crocodiles are commonly known to take cattle from the reaches of both Burdekin and Suttor river sections of Lake Dalrymple reaches of the dam. In 2009 as part of
72-581: The Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia . Q150 was celebrated in 2009. The Queensland government and other Queensland organisations celebrated the occasion with many events and publications, including: Many local communities celebrated Q150 in various ways. In Coominya , the local heritage society commissioned a series of murals depicting early life at
90-577: The Q150 celebrations, the Burdekin Falls Dam was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat". Gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of
108-485: The biggest danger to gravity dams and that is why, every year and after every major earthquake, they must be tested for cracks, durability, and strength. Although gravity dams are expected to last anywhere from 50–150 years, they need to be maintained and regularly replaced. Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established
126-586: The coastal ranges west of Mackay , and west beyond Charters Towers to the Lolworth, Montgomery and Stopem Blockem Ranges through the Clarke River. Construction of the dam began in 1984. It was completed by Leighton Contractors in 1987 and is the largest lake in the state, with a capacity four times that of Sydney Harbour . The lake filled after the wet season in 1988. The Burdekin River Irrigation Area
144-463: The dam is stable and independent of any other dam section. Gravity dams generally require stiff rock foundations of high bearing strength (slightly weathered to fresh), although in rare cases, they have been built on soil. Stability of the dam primarily arises from the range of normal force angles viably generated by the foundation. Also, the stiff nature of a gravity dam structure endures differential foundation settlement poorly, as it can crack
162-401: The dam structure. The main advantage to gravity dams over embankments is the scour -resistance of concrete, which protects against damage from minor over-topping flows. Unexpected large over-topping flows are still a problem, as they can scour dam foundations. A disadvantage of gravity dams is that their large concrete structures are susceptible to destabilising uplift pressures relative to
180-400: The dam wall. It was proposed it would be capable of producing 125,000 megawatt-hours (450,000 GJ) annually, enough to power more than 9,500 homes each year. As at November 2023, construction was scheduled to commence in 2025 and be operational in 2027 producing 150 gigawatt-hours (540 TJ). There are no boating restrictions, with a single boat ramp located near the dam wall. Water in
198-510: The lake is often muddied with unsettled sediment long after the rains have washed it into the lake. This not only makes angling difficult but also means boating can be hazardous at high speeds due to the presence of submerged rocks. The lake has been stocked with sleepy cod , sooty grunter and barramundi . Numerous other species are present naturally, including forktail catfish , spangled perch , eel-tailed catfish , long tom , golden perch and archer fish . A Stocked Impoundment Permit
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#1732851269157216-447: The most support. The most common classification of gravity dams is by the materials composing the structure: Composite dams are a combination of concrete and embankment dams . Construction materials of composite dams are the same used for concrete and embankment dams. Gravity dams can be classified by plan (shape): Gravity dams can be classified with respect to their structural height: Gravity dams are built to withstand some of
234-479: The reservoir is also used to replenish downstream aquifers . The dam wall is 876 metres (2,874 ft) long and has a 504-metre (1,654 ft) spillway , and a drop of 37 metres (121 ft). The reservoir holds 1,860,000 megalitres (410 × 10 ^ imp gal; 490 × 10 ^ US gal) at full capacity. The design allows for future storage capacity increases and potential for hydro-electricity generation. As of 2022, plans are in place to increase
252-582: The safety of this dam in an extreme rainfall event by raising the spillway height by 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) increasing the storage capacity of the dam by 574,240 megalitres (20,279 × 10 ^ cu ft) or 31 per cent. The catchment area for the dam extends north to the Seaview Range west of Ingham , south to the Drummond Range near Alpha through the Suttor and Belyando Rivers , southeast to
270-485: The strongest earthquakes . Even though the foundation of a gravity dam is built to support the weight of the dam and all the water, it is quite flexible in that it absorbs a large amount of energy and sends it into the Earth's crust. It needs to be able to absorb the energy from an earthquake because, if the dam were to break, it would send a mass amount of water rushing downstream and destroy everything in its way. Earthquakes are
288-471: The surrounding soil. Uplift pressures can be reduced by internal and foundation drainage systems. During construction, the exothermic curing of concrete can generate large amounts of heat. The poorly-conductive concrete then traps this heat in the dam structure for decades, expanding the plastic concrete and leaving it susceptible to cracking while cooling. It is the designer's task to ensure this does not occur. Gravity dams are built by first cutting away
306-459: The weight of the dam and water. There are three different tests that can be done to determine the foundation's support strength: the Westergaard, Eulerian, and Lagrangian approaches. Once the foundation is suitable to build on, construction of the dam can begin. Usually gravity dams are built out of a strong material such as concrete or stone blocks, and are built into a triangular shape to provide
324-462: Was granted approval in 1980. It is Queensland's largest land and water conservation scheme. In 2007, the scheme was supplying 103,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of land located about 200 kilometres (120 mi) inland from Townsville with water to grow a range of crops including sugarcane , cotton and rice. In 2012, Stanwell Corporation undertook a feasibility study into a proposed 37 megawatts (50,000 hp) hydroelectric power station below
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