We've completed the $18 million upgrade to Leslie Harrison Dam. Come and see for yourself on Saturday June 15 and Sunday June 16.

Join us for a rare opportunity to tour Leslie Harrison Dam, learn about how we operate this essential water infrastructure for the Redland Coast, and find out about the recently completed dam upgrade.

Register for tours at this link.

To maintain safety and security please note:

• this event is not suitable for children under 10 years due to safety risks
• this event is mainly outdoors, with limited shade, at an operational work site. Attendees are encouraged to wear fully enclosed shoes, long pants, long sleeves and a hat. We strongly recommend insect repellent and sunscreen.
• This event includes walking on uneven surfaces and a small number of stairs.
• Please contact us at [email protected] if you require mobility, language (including AUSLAN) or other support to participate in this event.
• All attendees must register and provide their full name and address to meet the security requirements of this site.

Work on the $24 million Leslie Harrison Dam Upgrade is expected to be completed ahead of schedule. The majority of construction works have been completed and shortly the contractor will be completing finishing works such as access roads, drains and reinstatement works and demobilising the site, which includes the removal of the temporary bridge, construction equipment and materials.

The temporary ‘military-style’ bridge – similar to those used globally for humanitarian emergencies – was constructed over Tingalpa Creek to allow site access while keeping the majority of construction traffic off local streets. It reduced the environmental impacts associated with the creek crossing and helped carry more than 14,000 loads of construction materials to the site safely.

Once the temporary bridge has been removed, construction traffic will revert to the existing Seqwater access to the site, and during this time residents can expect:

• Increased traffic, including heavy vehicles, entering and exiting the site from Mt Cotton Road through Larbonya Crescent/Willowie Crescent.

• Traffic management on local roads as required to maintain the safety of both the community and construction workers.

• Minor disturbances associated with finishing and demobilising work, such as noise and dust.

• No change to existing Seqwater operations, including the Capalaba Water Treatment Plant.

The completed Leslie Harrison Dam Upgrade has strengthened the dam embankment and spillway to better withstand extreme weather events and earthquakes.

For more information contact the project team:
Phone - 1800 881 495 (free call within Australia)
Email - [email protected]

We appreciate your patience and understanding during these finishing and demobilising works of the Leslie Harrison Dam Upgrade.

The temporary bridge over the spillway is now complete and is being used by trucks and other heavy vehicles to access the work site. Trucks are entering the site from Dam Road off Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road.

Want to se how we built the temporary bridge? Check out this video!

There are changed traffic conditions on Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road near the interchange with Moreton Bay Road. Trucks will be accessing Dam Road between 7am and 5pm. Please drive with caution and observe all signage in place. Dam Road is only accessible to construction vehicles.

The completion of the bridge means that only light vehicles (personal cars and utes) will be regularly using Larbonya Crescent and Willowie Crescent. These local roads will remain a backup contingency route for other vehicles to access site if required, such as during maintenance on the temporary bridge.

During community consultation earlier this year, Seqwater made a commitment to share summaries of the contractor’s Environmental Management and Traffic Management plans. Both of these plans are now available in the document library on this website. These plans identify how Fulton Hogan has responded to community concerns including safety around Capalaba State College, impacts on nearby residents and impacts on the environment particularly to native wildlife.

Seqwater has appointed an experienced contractor, Fulton Hogan, to undertake construction. Work is expected to take up to 12 months to complete. The $24m Leslie Harrison Dam Upgrade will strengthen the dam wall and spillway to improve safety and is expected to be completed by mid-2019.

What to expect during construction

• Increased traffic, including delivery trucks, on local roads.
• Most construction traffic will access the site via Dam Road, off Mount Gravatt – Capalaba Rd, and a temporary bridge across Tingalpa Creek from mid-July.
• Temporary traffic management on local roads as required to maintain the safety of both the community and construction workers.
• Minor disturbances associated with construction work, such as noise and dust.
• No change to existing Seqwater operations, including the Capalaba Water Treatment Plant.

All works will take place between 7am and 5.30pm on weekdays and between 7.30am and 2pm on Saturdays. Construction workers will also be travelling on local roads for half an hour before and after work hours.

Project contact details

Fulton Hogan has established a community hotline and project email account for enquiries or complaints.

• Free call community hotline: 1800 405 086
• Project email: [email protected]

Construction traffic access

Dam Road will be the primary construction access route during the upgrade. This route is expected to be open from mid-July. Until then, all vehicles will use the existing access to the Capalaba Water Treatment Plant via Larbonya Crescent and Willowie Crescent.

The crossing of Tingalpa Creek will use a temporary bridge structure, similar to those used by the military and for humanitarian and emergency access routes. This will reduce the environmental impacts associated with the creek crossing and the probability of inundation from spillway flows. The temporary bridge structure will be 55m long, about the length of four and a half city buses, and will safely transport 44 tonne trucks from Dam Road to the work site. The temporary bridge structure will be higher and more resilient than a typical creek crossing, but will still be unsafe to use during large flood events.

Next steps

Site establishment works will take four to six weeks. Heavy construction is expected to start in July.

We will keep the community informed of progress with the project and any expected impacts.

We appreciate your patience during these essential works.

In 2014-15, the water level at Leslie Harrison Dam was lowered and the gates were removed to reduce the water load on the dam. Detailed investigations were conducted to identify a preferred solution to address the dam improvements required and meet Queensland Dam Safety Management guidelines.

Following detailed investigations, the decision has been made to upgrade Leslie Harrison Dam and maintain its current full supply level once work is complete.

The detailed design for the upgrade of Leslie Harrison Dam has now been completed. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2018 and will take around 12 months to complete, subject to weather. Features of the upgrade design include:

• widening and strengthening of the dam wall
• anchoring the spillway at the crest and the lower end
• improving resilience to extreme weather events and earthquakes
• modifying the water intake tower to improve flood immunity.

The gates will not be returned to the spillway.

A number of tools have been developed to help you learn more about Leslie Harrison Dam, its history, how the dam operates and plans for the future.

• Leslie Harrison Dam - gates and water security information sheet (PDF)
• About Leslie Harrison Dam fact sheet (PDF)
• Leslie Harrison Dam Improvement Project fact sheet (PDF)
• Watch a simulation of Leslie Harrison Dam during ex-Cyclone Debbie 2017(External link)
• Take a look into the upgrade of Leslie Harrison Dam(External link)
• Watch Redland residents tour of Leslie Harrison Dam(External link)
• Learn more about the protected vegetation and koala refuge

During construction, we expect between 40 and 80 trucks per day to bring materials to and from the site. Seqwater recently sought community feedback on proposed construction access routes for heavy vehicles, including trucks, for the Leslie Harrison Dam upgrade Community feedback identified four significant areas of concern:

• The impact on traffic on major roads and local streets.
• The impact on residents living near construction access routes.
• The impact on the environment, especially wildlife.
• The impact on safety, particularly for pedestrians.

A fifth recurring concern was recreation on and around Leslie Harrison Dam, however feedback included comments both in favour of and opposed to the introduction of recreation.

You can read the full report on community feedback here.

The next step in the decision making process is to meet with local council officers to discuss the approval requirements, proposed traffic routes and community concerns. A decision on preferred traffic routes and traffic management will be made in conjunction with Brisbane City Council and Redland City Council.

Additional investigations will be made to inform these decisions. This is likely to include engineering works, environmental surveys and geotechnical (soil) surveys, and may be completed on all proposed routes.

We will provide regular updates to the community about progress with investigations, planning and decision making. Summaries of the environmental management and traffic management plans will be published on the project webpage and shared with residents near the access routes.

The easiest way to stay informed of progress with planning and construction is to subscribe to email updates.