MEDIA RELEASE 5 March 2007

Lake Lenthall ready for rain

Contractors are putting the final touches on the new gates at Lake Lenthall which will swing into action when enough rain arrives to significantly raise the catchment's level.

The project, which has been more than 10 years in the making, effectively raises the level of the dam by two metres.

The construction phase of the project has lasted nearly a year but workers expect to leave the site by the end of the month.

"The gates are operational now and will hold water," said the Wide Bay Water Project Manager Trevor Dean. "The real test will be when the rain does come and the water is high enough to go over the top of them."

Mr Dean said a raft of government approvals had been obtained for the project to go ahead.

He added that a Cultural Management Plan was in place to protect the needs of the land's traditional owners.

"The plan has been agreed with the Gubbi Gubbi people who are the native title claimants of the area," said Mr Dean. "It has also been designed to ensure that it won't flood the nearby Wongi Waterholes."

The innovative gates will increase the lake’s current capacity of 17,800 megalitres to 29,500 megalitres when it is full. Wide Bay Water estimates that the new level will serve the growing city of Hervey Bay for the next 20 years.

Mr Dean said the gates were the only crest gates in Australia and were particularly valuable in times of flood.

"The gates will automatically submerge allowing excess water to go over the spillway," he said. "This pushes a lot of water through at once, flushing the waterways as if there wasn't a dam. Also, it enables us to quickly restore the dam to its proper level and it means that logs and other debris washed through in floods don't get stuck in the gates, they simply wash right over."

Recreational improvements have taken place including the planting of numerous trees and the creation of a picnic area complete with gazebo which overlooks the lake.

More works are planned for the site including the upgrading of the toilet block and the construction of a ranger's residence.

For more details phone Denis Heron, Wide Bay Water Corporation, on 1300 808 888.