Somerset Dam | |
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Location of the Somerset Dam in Queensland | |
Country | Australia |
Location | South East Queensland |
Coordinates | 27°06′55″S 152°33′24″E / 27.1154°S 152.5566°E |
Purpose | |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | 1935 |
Opening date | 1959 |
Operator(s) | SEQ Water |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Gravity dam |
Impounds | Stanley River |
Height | 50 m (160 ft)[1] |
Length | 305 m (1,001 ft)[1] |
Width (base) | 41 m (135 ft)[2] |
Dam volume | 203×10 3 m3 (7.2×10 6 cu ft)[1] |
Spillway type | Gated |
Spillway capacity | 4,650 m3/s (164,000 cu ft/s)[1] |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Lake Somerset |
Total capacity | 904,000 ML (199×10 9 imp gal; 239×10 9 US gal)[2] |
Active capacity | 380,000 ML (84×10 9 imp gal; 100×10 9 US gal)[1][3] |
Inactive capacity | 524,000 ML (115×10 9 imp gal; 138×10 9 US gal)[2] |
Catchment area | 1,330 km2 (510 sq mi)[1] |
Surface area | 4,350 ha (10,700 acres)[1] |
Maximum length | 52 m (171 ft) |
Maximum width | 7 m (23 ft) |
Normal elevation | 108 m (354 ft) AHD |
Somerset Dam | |
Commission date | 1959 |
Installed capacity | 3.2 MW (4,300 hp) |
Annual generation | 12 GWh (43 TJ) |
Website www.seqwater.com.au |
The Somerset Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway across the Stanley River in Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset Dam in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland. The main purpose of the dam is the supply of potable water for the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Logan City regions. Additionally, the dam provides for flood mitigation, recreation and for the generation of hydroelectricity.[1] The impounded reservoir is called Lake Somerset.
As early as the 1960s it had become clear that the dam could not meet the water requirements of the region by the 1980s.[4]
The dam, lake and surrounding village of Somerset are named in honour of Henry Plantagenet Somerset, a local grazier and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland who represented the seat of Stanley[2] from 1904 until 1920.