Lake Manchester
About Lake Manchester
Lake Manchester was originally constructed in 1916, making it one of the regions earliest dams, and was upgraded in 2008 to increase its storage capacity.
It 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 Lake Manchester begins to spill, sign up to our free dam release notification service or download our public safety mobile app.
Current capacity
- KEY INFORMATION
- WATER SOURCE
- LIVING NEAR DAMS
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Key information
NameLake Manchester
WatercourseCabbage Tree Creek
Location25 km west of Brisbane
Catchment area74.00km²
Length of dam wall188.00m
Year completed1916
Type of constructionMass concrete gravity dam
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Lake Manchester is located approximately 25 kilometres west of Brisbane and is part of the SEQ Water Grid. The dam was upgraded in 2008 to increase its storage capacity.
The lake has a catchment area of 74 km2 and holds 26,217 million litres of water at full supply.
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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 Lake Manchester, this is Brisbane City Council.