The Cooby Dam is a
rockfill embankment 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, aqua ...
with an
ungated spillway across the Cooby Creek, a tributary of
Condamine River
The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometres (3 ...
, at
Groomsville in the Toowoomba Region on the
Darling Downs
The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for
potable
Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...
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. Th ...
of the
Toowoomba
Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...
region.
The impounded
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
is called the Cooby Creek Reservoir.
Location and features
The dam is located approximately north of .
The other two storages used for Toowoomba are
Perseverance Dam and
Cressbrook Dam.
Completed in 1942, the rockfill dam structure is high and long. The dam wall holds back the reservoir when at full capacity. From a
catchment area
A catchment area in human geography, 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 a surface area of at a maximum depth of when at full capacity. The uncontrolled un-gated spillway has a discharge capacity of .
[ The dam is managed by the Toowoomba Region Council.][
In July 2006, public outcry and a referendum with winning "No" vote rejected plans to place recycled water into Cooby Dam. In 2007, the idea was again resurrected when plans for an advanced ]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, ...
plant to be built near Cooby Dam by the Toowoomba City Council were suggested. The trial would test the re-use of recycled water into Toowoomba's drinking water supply.
In 2008, an emergency bore was used to extract water from the Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, extending over . Measured water temperatures range from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia. ...
to supplement water supplies for the dam as drought conditions reduced supply to critical levels.
Recreational activities
A stocked impoundment permit is required to fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
in the dam.
See also
* List of dams in Queensland
References
{{WaterQueensland , state=autocollapse
Reservoirs in Queensland
Darling Downs
Dams in Queensland
Dams completed in 1942
1942 establishments in Australia
Embankment dams
Toowoomba Region