- North Pine Dam
-
Lake Samsonvale 
North Pine Dam at only 27% capacity (2006) Location Moreton Bay, Queensland Coordinates 27°16′19″S 152°55′09″E / 27.2719°S 152.9191°ECoordinates: 27°16′19″S 152°55′09″E / 27.2719°S 152.9191°E Lake type Reservoir Primary inflows North Pine River Primary outflows North Pine River Catchment area 348 km² Basin countries Australia Surface area 2200ha Water volume 214 960 ML [1][2] Surface elevation 39.63 m Settlements Whiteside, Joyner References [1][2] North Pine Dam is built across the North Pine River, north-west of Brisbane, within Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia.
The damming of North Pine River created an artificial lake called Lake Samsonvale to secure a supply of drinking water for the Moreton Bay region and Brisbane's northern suburbs.
Contents
Design and capacity
The North Pine Dam is a mass concrete dam designed by the Department of Local Government, with the Co-ordinator General's Department supervising construction contracts. The cost of the dam was A$20 million.[3]
Its dam wall is 580 metres long and 40 metres high, with a central concrete spillway section on which five steel gates are installed.
The dam has a storage capacity of 214,960 megalitres with a catchment area of 348 km². As at May 2009, it is storing approximately 214,960 megalitres - 100% of its capacity.
History
The North Pine Dam opened on 12 August 1976 by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane City Council, Alderman Frank Sleeman. The accompanying water treatment plant is also managed by South East Queensland Water.
The dam meant that many of the surrounding grazing and dairy farms were compulsorily acquired, and the only evidence of these farms is now the names of roads leading to the lake's shoreline, such as Winn Road and Golds Scrub Lane. Golds Scrub Lane now leads only to the Samsonvale Cemetery; prior to the flooding of the dam, the site was also home to a church and a post office. To allow for the dam's flooding, 27 kilometres of road had to be relocated and rebuilt.[3]
In May 2007, the dam, which was providing about 100 ML per day or 20% of the South East Queensland region's water supply, was taken offline as a safety precaution.[4][5] This was due to a drought in which water levels had dropped to 14% capacity, the lowest since it was built. The cessation of water supply was meant to protect the dam from potential blue green algae blooms in the coming summer months.[4] The operators continued to release between 8-10 million litres per day to service the North Pine River.[4]
Flood mitigation
The North Pine Dam was designed with little flood mitigation capacity in mind, being designed only for water storage. As such, during flood seasons the location of the dam spillway causes the flooding and closure of Youngs Crossing Road.[3]
Flood conditions last affected the dam catchment in October 2010, and prior to that 1991, 1989 and 2000 & 2009.[citation needed]
The dam wall is also one of the few in Queensland to be located upstream of a large urban area, and in the event of overtopping or dam failure, Geoscience Australia suggests that the downstream urban population would be flooded within three hours.[6]
Recreational uses
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.[7]
Picnic facilities are available at four locations around the dam,[8] with access prohibited outside of daylight hours.
Fishing
For many years fishing was banned in the dam.[9] Lake Samsonvale has been stocked by Pine Rivers Fish Stocking Association www.prfma.com.au with fresh water fish, including spangled perch, snub-nosed garfish, golden perch, silver perch, eastern freshwater cod, saratoga and Australian bass, with varying levels of success.
The dam is also home to the noxious species tilapia which is a fine eating sportfish in its larger sizes but tends to overpopulate and stunt if uncontrolled, as well as a population of Australian red claw crayfish,[10] usually native only to Northern Queensland. Both the tilapia and red claw species are the target of considerable local effort for their capture and complete removal.[9]
Like various other Queensland freshwater fisheries, a stocked impoundment permit (SIPS) is required to fish in North Pine Dam.[9][11]
Boating
All boating on the lake is prohibited except through two groups. The Lake Samsonvale Water Sports Association and the stocking group Pine Rivers Fish Stocking Association have 300 permits to release each year for non petrol powered craft to members of the public for a small licence fee [7]
See also
References
- ^ a b SEQ Water:Current Dam Levels
- ^ a b Seqwater rainfall and dam level update
- ^ a b c "North Pine Dam". SEQWater's Dams. SEQWater. 2002. Archived from the original on 2008-01-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20080106231431/http://www.seqwater.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=NorthPineDam. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b c Tuck Thompson (2007-05-17). "North Pine Dam taken offline". The Courier Mail. Queensland Newspapers. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21746883-5007200,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ "Wivenhoe, Somerset to make up North Pine Dam shortfall". ABC Queensland. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-05-17. http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200705/1925252.htm?queensland. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ (PDF) Natural Hazards and the risks they pose to South-East Queensland - 2001. Geoscience Australia. 2003-03-11. http://www.ga.gov.au/image_cache/GA4210.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b "Recreation Policies – SEQWater Lakes". Public Activities. SEQWater. 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-10-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20071019024740/http://www.seqwater.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=RecreationalPolicies. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ "Lake Samsonvale - Recreation Areas". Public Activities. SEQWater. 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-10-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20071019024451/http://www.seqwater.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=Map_SamsonvaleLake. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b c Harrison, Rod; Ernie James, Chris Sully, Bill Classon, Joy Eckermann (2008). Queensland Dams. Bayswater, Victoria: Australian Fishing Network. pp. 132–133. ISBN 9781865131344.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Garry (22 October 2007). "Lake Samsonvale ( North Pine Dam) - Petrie. Qld". Sweetwater Fishing Locations. Sweetwater Fishing Australia. http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Samsonvale.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ "Fishing in Queensland dams? You may need a permit". Fisheries. Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. 26 May 2009. http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/28_13268_ENA_HTML.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
External links
Categories:- Pine Rivers, Queensland
- Lakes of Queensland
- Reservoirs and dams in Australia
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