You are here: ANRA home » Natural resource topics » Water » Overview » Queensland
This web site is no longer being updated
In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Water resources - Overview - Queensland
Basin & Surface Water Management Area: Barron River
Introduction
The Barron SWMA has an area of 2138 sq km and is located in northern Queensland. The major towns in the SWMA are Atherton and Yungabarra. The Barron River is about 165 km in length and drains the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range and the Lamb Range. The major tributaries of the Barron River include Freshwater, Flaggy, Emerald and Granite Creeks and the Clohesy River.
The mean annual rainfall for the 50 year period 1920 to 1969 varies between 1000mm and 2000 mm.
The major storage on the Barron River is Tinaroo Falls Dam with a catchment area of 545 sq km , a capacity of 407000 ML and a mean annual run off of 309980 ML. The second largest storage is the Copperlode Dam (Lake Morris) with a capacity of 45500 ML and an annual run off of 56598 ML. Other storages on the Barron River are Mareeba Weir, Bilwon Weir, Koah Weir , Kuranda Weir, Kowrowa Weir, Mantaka Weir and Flaggy Creek Dam.
Water is distributed from the dam via a channel system to irrigation farms. The major water users of Lake Tinaroo are the Mareeba Dimbulah Irrigation Area and, the Yungaburra , Atherton and Kuranda Town Water Supply and the Barron Falls Power Station. Cairns City draws a significant proportion of its water supply from the Copperlode Dam.
Average annual water usage for the area, (1988/89 to 1997/98) is 77500ML.
Vital Statistics:
| Area: | 2,188 Km2 |
|---|---|
| Total storage volume: | 1,947,395 |
| Total surface water use: | 57,789 ML/yr |
| Development category: | HIGH DEVELOPMENT |
| Mean annual run-off: | 977,400 ML/yr |
A four-class classification system was developed to provide a simple method to communicate the status of the use and allocation of Australia's water resources in relation to sustainable water management.
It is important to recognise that adequately quantifying a sustainable flow regime or sustainable yield and consequent operating rules is a complex matter. State, Territory and scientific agencies continue to develop and apply methods and measures for determining sustainable flow regimes and sustainable yields.
This categorisation provides a general guide only. Please refer to the State and Territory Overview and Technical reports for detail on the analysis methods used.
| Category | Development status | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | <30% | Low development | |
| 2 | 30 - 70% | Moderate development | |
| 3 | 70 - 100% | Highly developed | |
| 4 | 100% | Overdeveloped |
* Water use as a percentage of sustainable flow regime (surface water) and sustainable yield (groundwater)
PLEASE NOTE:
Sustainable Yield:
No sustainable yield studies are available for this SWMA. A Water Management Plan is currently being developed for this SWMA.
PLEASE NOTE:
Categorisation:
No sustainable yield studies are available for this SWMA.
This SWMA has a high level of development. A Water Allocation and Management Plan is currently being developed for this SWMA to guide future development.
How saline are the surface water resources in the Barron River surface water management area?
No data were available about the salinity of surface water resources in the Basin / SWMA for the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000.
Major water storages
Table: Major water storage areas:
| Storage name: | Capacity (ML) |
|---|---|
| Tinaroo Falls | 436,500 |
| West Barron | 273,750 |
| East Barron | 64,605 |
| Walsh Bluff | 155,855 |
| South Walsh | 17,885 |
| Paddys Green A | 21,170 |
| Paddys GreenB | 16,060 |
| West Barron 10 | 1,460 |
| Copperload (Lake Morris) | 44,500 |
| Kuranda (Barron Gorge) | 1,500 |
| Barron Falls | 788,400 |
| Dulbil | 271 |
| Granite Ck. | 244 |
| Mareeba | no data |
| Mareeba | 89,425 |
| Atherton | 35,770 |
| Total | 1,947,395 |
Further Information
- View the Queensland Water Resources Assessment 2000 Report
- View the Queensland Water Resources Assessment 2000 Technical Report
- Link to data available for download on the:
- Surface Water Management Areas
- Data from the 1985 Review of Australia's Water Resources and Water Use
- Link to the Map Maker to make a map using this information.
- For more information about water and other natural resource issues link to www.nrm.qld.gov.au
Key
Links to an another web site
Opens a pop-up window