Bill Gunn (Lake Dyer)
About Bill Gunn
Located west of Laidley, Bill Gunn Dam is an off-stream storage providing irrigation water for the Central Lockyer scheme. The water level in the lake varies depending on rainfall or demand from irrigation customers.
Bill Gunn Dam was built to increase the capacity of Lake Dyer. With only a small natural catchment area, the dam is filled by diverted flows from Laidley Creek.
Bill Gunn is an un-gated dam, meaning that when it reaches 100 per cent capacity, water flows over the spillway and safely out of the dam. If you would like to be notified when Bill Gunn Dam begins to spill, please sign up to our free dam release notification service.
Current capacity
- KEY INFORMATION
- WATER SOURCE
- LIVING NEAR DAMS
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Key information
NameBill Gunn (Lake Dyer)
WatercourseLaidley Creek
LocationWest of Laidley
Catchment area3.02km²
Length of dam wall1050.00m
Year completed1987
Type of constructionZoned earth embankment with a central clay core
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The lake has a catchment area of 3.0 km2 and holds 6,947 megalitres of water at full supply.
Bill Gunn Dam supplies water for irrigation as part of the Lower Lockyer Water Supply Scheme and is typically a popular recreation destination for water-based and land-based activities.
Read more about the Lower Lockyer Valley scheme.
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Flood mitigation
All dams help mitigate flooding to some extent. The peak outflow from a gated or un-gated dam during a flood event is less than the peak outflow that would have occurred had the dam not been built, because some water is held in the dam while it is spilling. This means that water flow slows down as floods pass through the dam.
It’s important neighbours and people downstream of dams know what to do in the unlikely event of an emergency. Each of our dams have an emergency action plan (EAP) in place to enable us to respond quickly to potential incidents in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, relevant emergency services and local councils. For Bill Gunn Dam, this is Lockyer Valley Regional Council.