Water storage
Fitzroy River Water sources water supplies from water storages such as dams, reservoirs and a Barrage in the Rockhampton Region.
Mount Morgan No. 7 Dam
The Mount Morgan No. 7 Dam is a mass concrete dam with an earth levee located on the Dee River, immediately downstream of its junction with Limestone Creek.
Main water supply for: Mount Morgan Township
Constructed: "1990 by the Mount Morgan Gold Mine Company"
Storage capacity: 2,830ML
Fletcher Creek Weir
Fletcher Creek Weir is a 3-row steel sheet piling weir located on Fletcher Creek, just upstream of the junction with the Dee River and 13km directly south of the Mount Morgan Township.
Supplementary water supply for: Mount Morgan Township
Constructed: 1984
Storage capacity: 340ML (with additional 300ML groundwater)
Reservoirs
Reservoirs act as storage facilities for the Region’s water supply systems.
As at August 2018, there are 21 reservoirs in the Rockhampton Region including:
Rockhampton
Number of reservoirs: 15 for drinking water (including two clear wells at the Glenmore Water Treatment Plan).
Combined capacity: 103 million litres
Mount Morgan
Number of reservoirs: 2 for drinking water
Combined capacity: 5 million litres
Gracemere
Number of reservoirs: 4 for drinking water
Capacity: 7.75 million litres
All drinking water reservoirs are sealed to prevent any external contamination and re-chlorination is performed to ensure that the water quality is maintained.
Fitzroy River Barrage
The Fitzroy River Barrage (Barrage) is the major water storage in the Region. The Barrage is the water source for the town of Rockhampton and surrounding areas of Gracemere, in addition to supplying agriculture water to approximately 297 registered rural users (as at July 2020).
Rockhampton Regional Council is the Resource Operations Licence Holder for the Barrage and is required to operate the storage in accordance with the requirements of the Fitzroy Resource Operations Plan.
Constructed: 1970
Storage volume: 74,400 megalitres (approx. 24,600 megalitres is dead storage, or water that is not available for use or diversion)
Supply available: The Barrage holds sufficient water to supply Rockhampton for nine months without any run-off in to the river over its vast catchment.
Number of gates: 18 vertical lift gates
Operation of gates: Remotely controlled and monitored by a computer system. Automatically operate in response to rises in river height
Fish ladder: Operates on southern bank and is estimated 500,000 fish negotiate the ladder each year during full levels of 600mm