Above & Beyond II (Mount Isa's Lake Moondarra, North West Queensland)

            By the 6th of November 1958 Lake Moondarra, originally known as Leichhardt Dam, was officially supplying water to Mount Isa Residents.

A history of the Mount Isa region, like most towns in Australia's arid interior, is a story about securing reliable water for domestic and industrial development. Prior to the construction of Lake Moondarra, Mount Isa's water needs were met by a series of bores near the bed of the Leichhardt River and the old Rifle Creek Dam.

But with a burgeoning town population and ever expanding mining operations, these water supplies became inadequate for the thirsty town. Subsequently, Mount Isa Mines Limited took the unprecedented decision to construct what was at the time Australia's largest privately funded water scheme.

In late 1956 a rocky gorge on the Leichhardt River (Tharrapatha) 16kms downstream from the township was selected due to its natural bedrock attributes and proximity to town. American company Uta Construction was awarded the contract and works began without delay with the building of a bitumen road from town to the clearing of trees within the basin.

However, this ambitious project was not to progress without drama, and by December 1956 seasonal rains sent flood waters rushing through the gorge causing extensive damage to the partially completed wall. When construction did resume several months later, it was the Australian company Thiess Brothers that completed the 26.5 metre concrete-faced wall thereby concluding Operation Big Water in 1957 at a cost of 2.4 million dollars. 

On the 11th of July 1962 the Mount Isa Mail announced Lake Moondarra and 'Warrina Park' as new official names selected from over 400 entries by local school children.

In 1968 Clear Water Lagoon was partition off from Lake Moondarra to address water quality issues during flood events and interestingly remains one of few examples of natural filtration reservoirs in Australia.

On average 2000 megalitres/month is filtered through Clear Water Lagoon after being pumped from Lake Moondarra. Due in part to Moondarra's high evaporation rate and the region's sustained growth and development the need to secure additional water supplies continued. In 1971 the height of Moondarra's spillway was increased and later in 1976 Lake Moondarra's sister dam Lake Julius, also on the Leichhardt River, was completed 70km downstream from Mount Isa. During times of prolonged drought, Lake Julius water can be pumped directly into Clear Water Lagoon.

Undeniably, economic growth and development are the catalysts for offering forever our inland waterways and natural, cultural landscapes.

Source: Southern Gulf NRM & Mount Isa Water Board.

Taken on: January 1, 2023

Tags:

lake

dam

reservoir

water

waters

drink

drinking

irrigation

pump

pumping

infrastructure

resource

resources

town

township

people

peoples

population

demand

demands

mine

mines

mining

quarry

industry

industries

sky

skies

cloud

clouds

bird

birds

cow

cows

bug

bugs

tree

trees

bush

scrub

nature

artificial

sun

sunset

afternoon

evening

peace

peaceful

quiet

serene

serenity

colour

colours

aboriginal

indigenous

kalkadoon

culture

cultural

history

historic

heritage

outback

lake moondarra

mount isa

north west

queensland

australia « less

Sets appears in: • North West Queensland (Kalkadoon/Mitakoodi Country)

Groups appears in: • Panorama Maker • Panoramas - Panoramiques

Camera: DJI FC2103, f/2.8, 1/640 sec, 4.5mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	DJI FC2103
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	4.5mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+0.3 EV
Flash:	No flash function
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 12.4 (Windows)
Show full info

Stats: 9,604 views

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: