Copperlode Dam

Copperlode Dam

Location	11km southwest of Cairns
Coordinates	16°58′48″S 145°40′26″E / 16.9799°S 145.674°E / -16.9799; 145.674Coordinates: 16°58′48″S 145°40′26″E / 16.9799°S 145.674°E / -16.9799; 145.674
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	Australia

Copperlode Dam or Lake Morris is a fresh water reservoir dam servicing the city of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The dam is located in the range immediately west of the city.

History

Originally Cairns' water needs were met with water drawn from Freshwater Creek and Behana Creek. It was evident to even the earliest settlers that a larger source of water would need to be secured as Cairns grew.

With this in mind, one of the city's engineers, F Morris, explored the Lamb Range to the west of the city to find a place to build a dam. In 1935 he found a site at Copperlode falls, near the headwaters of Freshwater Creek, that he thought would be suitable. Many years later, after a series of surveys confirmed the site's suitability, the State Government approved the site for construction of an earth and rock fill dam.

The State Government originally set aside A$3 million for the dam, but by the time the dam was completed on March 25, 1976, the total cost had risen to approximately $6.5 million. The reservoir holds 45,000 megalitres of water (in comparison to Lake Tinaroo's 407,000 megalitres).

The reservoir is named "Lake Morris" after the city engineer who discovered its site, but the dam itself is named after the waterfalls it replaced - Copperlode Falls.

External links

Cairns Water - History of Copperlode Dam

Water supply in Queensland, Australia

Dams and reservoirs by region

South East Queensland	Atkinson Baroon Pocket Biggera Creek Bill Gunn Bromelton Cedar Grove Weir Lake Clarendon Enoggera Ewen Maddock Gold Creek Hinze Lake Manchester Leslie Harrison Little Nerang Maroon Moogerah Mount Crosby Weir North Pine Poona Sideling Creek Six Mile Creek Somerset Splityard Creek Wappa Wivenho Wyaralong

Darling Downs	Connolly Cooby Coolmunda Cressbrook Glenlyon Leslie Perseverance

South West Queensland	E.J. Beardmore Neil Turner Weir

Wide Bay–Burnett	Ben Anderson Barrage Bjelke-Petersen Boobir Boondooma Borumba Cania Cedar Pocket Cooloolabin Fred Haigh Gordonbrook Lake Gregory Lenthalls McCauley Weir Meandu Creek Paradise Placer Wuruma

Central Queensland	Lake Awoonga Burton Gorge Callide Fairbairn Fitzroy River Barrage Kroombit Middle Creek Number 7 Teemburra Theresa Creek

North Queensland	Bamboo Burdekin Eungella Gattonvale Offstream Storage Kinchant Paluma Peter Faust Ross River Solomon Teviot Creek

Far North Queensland	Copperlode Ibis Irvinebank Koombooloomba Return Creek Southedge Stannary Hills Lake Tinaroo Wild River

North West Queensland	Lake Belmore Corella East Leichhardt Lake Julius Kidston Lake Moondarra Rifle Creek

Historical	Nindooinbah Tallebudgera Creek

Water resource management by function

Companies and government agencies	Gold Coast Water Queensland Urban Utilities seqwater SunWater WaterSecure

Other sources / facilities	Bradfield Scheme Bundaberg Irrigation Scheme Gold Coast Desalination Plant Mount Crosby Pumping Station SEQ Water Grid Toowoomba Water Futures referendum, 2006 Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme

Regulators	Department of Energy and Water Supply

Historical	Brisbane Water LinkWater Queensland Water Commission SEQ Water Grid Manager

Dams category
Water management category
Commons

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Copperlode Dam

History

See also

External links