The Fred Haigh Dam (also called Monduran Dam) is a dam in the

Bundaberg Region The Bundaberg Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the city of Bundaberg, and also contains a significant rural area surroundin ...

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. It was constructed across the

Kolan River The Kolan River is a river located in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. The river rises in the Bobby Range, below the Dawes Range in the north-east, and the Burnett Range in the south-west. The river flows generally south and then ea ...

in 1978 creating Lake Monduran. The dam's catchment area, north of

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

in Queensland, covers 1308 km2. It is named after Frederick Haigh who was Queensland's Commissioner of Irrigation and Water Supply from 1955 to 1974. The Monduran Dam, under construction at the time of his death, was named after him upon completion.

History

The dam was built to create a more reliable water supply for the sugarcane industry, as rainfall is not always reliable and underground water supplies were dwindling. Construction began on Saturday 13 November 1971 with a ceremony in which, Reg Swartz, Minister for National Development, initiated an explosion which blasted away tons of rock at the site and then unveiled a commemorative plaque. The dam was completed in late 1974 with the first release of water on 17 February 1975. The dam was originally to be called Monduran Dam. However, the Queensland Water Commissioner, Fred Haigh, had been a major driving force behind the dam and, following his sudden death on 15 July 1974, the Queensland Cabinet decided to rename the dam in his honour in 1979, retaining the name Monduran for the lake it created. The dam has a capacity of 562,045 megalitres when full. The lowest level recorded was 3.29% in February 2003 during the Millennium Drought, and the highest level of 181.5% (6.86 metres over the spillway) was recorded in January 2013 as a result of heavy rains from ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

Spillway Upgrade

SunWater Sunwater, the trading name of Sunwater Limited, is a statutory Queensland Government -owned corporation that supplies bulk water to over customers and water consultancy services to a range of institutional clients in the Wide Bay–Burnett and ...

is undertaking a dam

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

capacity upgrade program to ensure the highest level of safety for the dam is maintained. The spillway will be upgraded before 2010.

Boating

There are no boating restrictions on the lake and there is a single

boat ramp A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

for boat access.

Fishing

The dam has been stocked with

barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, South ...

silver perch Silver perch is a common name for several fishes and may refer to: *''Bairdiella chrysoura'', native to the east coast of the United States *''Bidyanus bidyanus'', endemic to Australia *''Leiopotherapon plumbeus ''Leiopotherapon plumbeus'', know ...

sooty grunter The sooty grunter (''Hephaestus fuliginosus''), also known by the name black bream, blubberlips, Northern grunter or purple grunter, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. It inhabits coastal and inland ...

and red-claw crayfish with

spangled perch ''Leiopotherapon unicolor'', the spangled grunter or spangled perch is a species of ray-finned fish, a grunter from the family Terapontidae. It is endemic to Australia. Description ''Leiopotherapon unicolor'' has a slender, oval shaped body whi ...

and forktail catfish naturally present. A ''Stocked Impoundment Permit'' is required to fish in the dam.Do I need a permit and how do I get one?

References

Reservoirs in Queensland Dams completed in 1978 Wide Bay–Burnett Dams in Queensland 1978 establishments in Australia {{Queensland-struct-stub

History

Spillway Upgrade

Boating

Fishing

See also

References