Ross River Dam

Ross River Dam
Ross River Dam at night, with open floodgates, pictured in 2008.
Location of the dam wall in Queensland
Country	Australia
Location	southwest of Townsville, North Queensland
Coordinates	19°24′35″S 146°44′15″E / 19.40972°S 146.73750°E / -19.40972; 146.73750Coordinates: 19°24′35″S 146°44′15″E / 19.40972°S 146.73750°E / -19.40972; 146.73750
Purpose	Flood control, water supply
Status	Operational
Opening date	1971
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	Ross River
Height	34.4 metres (113 ft)
Length	8,670 m (28,440 ft)
Dam volume	5,085×10^3 m3 (179.6×10^6 cu ft)
Spillway type	Controlled
Spillway capacity	674 m3/s (23,800 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Total capacity	803,565 ML (1.76760×1011 imp gal; 2.12279×1011 US gal)
Active capacity	233,187 ML (5.1294×1010 imp gal; 6.1601×1010 US gal)
Catchment area	750 km2 (290 sq mi)
Surface area	82,000×10^3 m2 (880×10^6 sq ft)

The Ross River Dam is a rock and eathfill-filled embankment dam across the Ross River, located in Townsville in northern Queensland, Australia. Built initially for flood control, the impoundment created by the dam serves as one of the major potable water supplies for the region.

The dam was constructed by Leighton Holdings in 1971 for the purposes of flood mitigation and water storage. Following a 2007 upgrade of facilities, the dam has a capacity of 250,000 megalitres (8,800×10^⁶ cu ft) and an earth rock embankment 8.67 kilometres (5.39 mi) in length and 34.4 metres (113 ft) high. The reservoir has a catchment area of 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) with an controlled gated spillway. The reservoir has a current capacity of 233,187 megalitres (5.1294×10¹⁰ imp gal; 6.1601×10¹⁰ US gal) of water; and can hold up to 803,565 megalitres (1.76760×10¹¹ imp gal; 2.12279×10¹¹ US gal) of water in flood mitigation. When the dam gates open, water spills over into the Ross River. Visitors may view the dam from a viewing platform at Ross Park. The Ross Dam Pump Station supplies up to 232 megalitres (8.2×10^⁶ cu ft) of water to the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, where the water undergoes aeration, sedimentation, rapid sand filtration and chlorination treatment before being pumped to the reservoir where the water is distributed to Townsville.

At the base of the dam and on the banks of the Ross River is Ross Park, part of Riverway, with facilities for picnics or barbecues, as well as public toilets at this location.