Gordonbrook Dam saves big $$ thanks to Betterment

Resilience works to strengthen a dam in the South Burnett have paid off with avoided costs of almost $7.5 million achieved following the floods of 2017 and 2018.

The Gordonbrook Dam is the main water supply reservoir for the town of Kingaroy and has a surface area of 236 hectares and an average depth of 2.8 metres, holding approximately 6,600 mega-litres of water. It is approximately 15km north-west of Kingaroy and was originally constructed in 1941 to provide water for an Air Force Training Base.

Flood discharge through the spillway during the events of 2011 and 2013 caused damage to a number of areas in the channel downstream of the spillway, estimated at approximately $4.7 million. 

The Gordonbrook Dam betterment project was to increase the resilience and flood immunity of the spillway by raising the height of the existing shotcrete wall to eight metres above the channel base.

It has since been subsequently impacted by two natural disaster events in 2017 and 2018 and has remained undamaged and functional throughout each of those events.

Gordonbrook Dam – project details: 
Restoration: $3,734,775
Betterment: $460,190
Avoided cost over two events: $7,469,550