The Ewen Maddock Dam is an earth-fill

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

with an un-gated spillway across the Addlington Creek that is located in Landsborough in the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

region of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for

potable Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

of the Sunshine Coast region.

Location and features

The Ewen Maddock Dam is situated within the

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

of Landsborough from the town of Landsborough and approximately southeast of Mooloolah and to supply the fast-growing region with town water. The dam is built across the Addlington Creek, a tributary of the

Mooloolah River The Mooloolah River is a river in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and flows east-northeast, similar to the Maroochy River to the north. The mouth of the river is at southern Moolool ...

, and was commenced in 1973, completed in 1976, with a subsequent upgrade to the height of the spillway in 1982. The earthfill dam structure is high and in length to hold back

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

when at full capacity. From a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of , the dam creates an unnamed reservoir with an average depth of . The surface area of the long and wide reservoir is . The uncontrolled un-gated spillway has a discharge capacity of . The dam is managed by

Seqwater Seqwater is a statutory authority of the Government of Queensland that provides bulk water storage, transport and treatment, water grid management and planning, catchment management and flood mitigation services to the South East Queensland reg ...

Water supply

In the past, raw water from the dam has been supplied to a treatment plant at

Caloundra Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia. Geography Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is accessible from Landsborough ...

. Since 1988 Ewen Maddock Dam was not used as a water source due to a lack of working

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, inc ...

infrastructure. In 2007, work began on an 30 million water treatment plant that will allow the dam to supply drinking water to the

South East Queensland Water Grid The SEQ Water Grid is a region-wide, long term, water supply scheme that provides a sustainable water infrastructure network for the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The project was the largest urban response to the drought in Austra ...

, via the Northern Pipeline inter-connector. The

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

incorporated a timber

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

along the reservoir's edge into the revised master plan when open space at Ewen Maddock Park was resumed for the treatment plant's construction.

Recreation

Swimming is permitted in the reservoir. Boating is limited to paddle power, due to the likelihood that powered boats would agitate the water and cause noxious weeds to break apart and spread. Access is limited to daylight hours and no camping is permitted, except at a group camping site with cabins and dormitories, called the Ewen Maddock Dam Recreation Centre which is located at the south eastern end of the lake.

Fauna and Flora

Ewen Maddock Dam is stocked with bass, silver perch,

golden perch The golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua'') is a medium-sized, yellow or gold-coloured species of Australian freshwater fish found primarily in the Murray-Darling River system, though a subspecies is found in the Lake Eyre-Cooper Creek system, an ...

and southern saratoga, while

bony bream Bony bream ''Nematalosa erebi'' are a widespread and common, small to medium-sized Australian freshwater fish often found in large shoals throughout much of northern and central Australia, and the Murray-Darling basin. Description A deep bodied, ...

is also present naturally. As Of September 1, 2016 the lake is on the "Stocked impoundments" register and requires a "SIPS" permit for fishing. The lake is weedy and shallow, except in the northern parts close to the dam wall. The weed species, Cabomba and

Salvinia ''Salvinia'', a genus in the family Salviniaceae, is a floating fern named in honor of Anton Maria Salvini, a 17th-century Italian scientist. Watermoss is a common name for ''Salvinia''. The genus was published in 1754 by Jean-François Ségui ...

, have been the target of weed eradication programs by CalAqua. The dam is a good place to see

jabiru The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has been reported as far north as Mississippi. ...

s. South-eastern banks of the lake are heavily forested and protected within the Beerwah State Forest.

References

External links