Little Nerang Dam

Dam in South East Queensland

28°8′37″S 153°17′6″E / 28.14361°S 153.28500°E / -28.14361; 153.28500PurposePotable water supply^[1]StatusOperationalOpening date1962 (1962)Operator(s)SEQ WaterDam and spillwaysType of damGravity damImpoundsLittle Nerang CreekHeight44 m (144 ft)^[1]Length201 m (659 ft)^[1]Dam volume68×10^³ m³ (2.4×10^⁶ cu ft)^[1]Spillway typeUncontrolledSpillway capacity570 m³/s (20,000 cu ft/s)^[1]ReservoirTotal capacity6,705 ML (1.475×10⁹ imp gal; 1.771×10⁹ US gal)Catchment area35.2 km² (13.6 sq mi)^[1]^[2]Surface area49 ha (120 acres)^[3]^[2]Website
www.seqwater.com.au

The Little Nerang Dam is a concrete gravity dam with an un-gated spillway across the Little Nerang Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Gold Coast region.^[1]^[3] The impounded reservoir is also called Little Nerang Dam. The dam was closed to the public in 2013 due to safety concerns.^[4]

Location and features

The dam is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west of Tugun and 25 kilometres (16 mi) driving distance from Mudgeeraba, and is located directly upstream from the Hinze Dam. Prior to the completion of the Hinze Dam, the Little Nerang Creek Gravity Scheme supplied the water requirements of the Gold Coast area. Water flows by gravity pipeline to the Mudgeeraba Water Treatment Plant. The plant, completed in 1969, has the capacity to treat 110 megalitres (24,000,000 imp gal; 29,000,000 US gal) a day. The water then flows by gravity to the city's storage reservoirs.

Completed in 1962,^[1] the rock and earthfill dam structure is 44 metres (144 ft) high and 201 metres (659 ft) long. The 68-thousand-cubic-metre (2.4×10^⁶ cu ft) dam wall holds back the 8,390-megalitre (1.85×10⁹ imp gal; 2.22×10⁹ US gal) reservoir when at full capacity. From a catchment area of 35 square kilometres (14 sq mi) that includes the Springbrook Plateau, the dam creates an unnamed reservoir with a surface area of 50 hectares (120 acres). The uncontrolled un-gated spillway has a discharge capacity of 570 cubic metres per second (20,000 cu ft/s).^[1] Initially managed by Gold Coast Water, management of the dam was transferred to Seqwater in July 2008.

Recreational

Recreation is not permitted at Little Nerang Dam. As of 2019, Access to Little Nerang Dam and Little Nerang Dam Road Seqwater is now restricted to SEQWater employees and residents of the road, with a large security gate blocking access.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Little Nerang Dam". Water supply: Dams and weirs. Seqwater. 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b Harrison, Rod; James, Ernie; Sully, Chris; Classon, Bill; Eckermann, Joy (2008). Queensland Dams. Bayswater, Victoria: Australian Fishing Network. ISBN 978-1-86513-134-4.
^ "Little Nerang Dam's hidden beauty revealed". Seqwater. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
^ "News | Seqwater".

External links

"Little Nerang Dam". Picture Australia. National Library of Australia.
"Spillway photo". Flickr. 15 September 2007.

Water supply in Queensland, Australia

Dams and reservoirs by region

South East Queensland	Atkinson Baroon Pocket Biggera Creek Bill Gunn Bromelton Cedar Grove Weir Lake Clarendon Enoggera Ewen Maddock Gold Creek Hinze Lake Manchester Leslie Harrison Little Nerang Maroon Moogerah Mount Crosby Weir North Pine Poona Sideling Creek Six Mile Creek Somerset Splityard Creek Wappa Wivenhoe Wyaralong
Darling Downs	Connolly Cooby Coolmunda Cressbrook Glenlyon Leslie Perseverance
South West Queensland	E.J. Beardmore Neil Turner Weir
Wide Bay–Burnett	Ben Anderson Barrage Bjelke-Petersen Boobir Boondooma Borumba Cania Cedar Pocket Cooloolabin Fred Haigh Gordonbrook Lake Gregory Lenthalls McCauley Weir Meandu Creek Paradise Placer Wuruma
Central Queensland	Lake Awoonga Burton Gorge Callide Fairbairn Fitzroy River Barrage Kroombit Middle Creek Number 7 Teemburra Theresa Creek
North Queensland	Bamboo Burdekin Falls Eungella Gattonvale Offstream Storage Kinchant Paluma Peter Faust Ross River Solomon Teviot Creek
Far North Queensland	Copperlode Falls Ibis Irvinebank Koombooloomba Return Creek Southedge Stannary Hills Lake Tinaroo Wild River
North West Queensland	Lake Belmore Corella East Leichhardt Lake Julius Kidston Lake Moondarra Rifle Creek
Historical	Nindooinbah Tallebudgera Creek

Water resource management by function

Companies and government agencies	Gold Coast Water Queensland Urban Utilities seqwater SunWater WaterSecure
Other sources / facilities	Bradfield Scheme Bundaberg Irrigation Scheme Gold Coast Desalination Plant Mount Crosby Pumping Station SEQ Water Grid Toowoomba Water Futures referendum, 2006 Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme
Regulators	Department of Energy and Water Supply
Historical	Brisbane Water LinkWater Queensland Water Commission SEQ Water Grid Manager