Ingrained in the history of the Burdekin region as one of the largest construction projects to date, the Burdekin Falls Dam holds the prestigious title of existing as the largest dam in Queensland.
Situated approximately 100 kilometres south of Charters Towers, the Burdekin Falls Dam was completed in 1987 at a cost totalling $125 million to adequately contain the Burdekin River, a catchment area covering about 7% of the state.
The structure can hold a capacity of 1,860,000 mega litres, and historically, the dam has reached a mammoth capacity of 221.15% which was recorded on the 20th of February in 1991, with the dam’s lowest point of 29.83% recoded in early November of 1987 after its official completion.
More recently, the dam has been splashed across headlines following the reconfirmation of the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising Project where the dam’s capacity will increase by an additional two meters with works to begin in 2027.
As outlined in the 2024-2025 Queensland Budget, $540 million in funding has been allocated for the project and as of the 24th of March, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process marked another milestone whereby the Coordinator-General stated a new project declaration lapse date of the 7th of April, 2027.
The Burdekin Dam Raising Project has been a contentious topic of discussion for quite some time now, and the structure itself continues to stir a world of conversation within the Burdekin community and beyond.
A post published in January of 2021 on a community social media page asked locals to recall the wild conspiracy theories they once believed (or may still believe) to be true about the infamous structure. Stories dating back to the dam’s construction of disappearing workers came to the forefront of many local’s minds as well as the tales of a witch calling the dam home alongside a monstrous crocodile.
With both a rich history and a wave of plans for future development, the Burdekin Falls Dam will undoubtably continue to stand as the most impressive and largest water storage asset in Queensland for years to come.
The Burdekin Falls Dam is the largest water storage facility in Queensland (Photo Source: Sunwater)$125 million was allocated to the dam's initial 1987 construction (Photo Source: William John Rolls)
The Burdekin Falls Dam near completion in 1987 (Photo Source: Fred Morris)
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