Tinaroo Dam

Covering almost 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi), the Mareeba-Dimbulah Irrigation Area is spread across the valleys of the Barron, Walsh and Mitchell Rivers. Some 415 square kilometres (160 sq mi) of farmland are irrigated by the lake when it supplies its 205,000 megalitres (7,200×10^⁶ cu ft) of water each year. Farmers access this water from the extensive network of 176 kilometres (109 mi) of channels using either a gravity fed system or pumps. Areas not serviced by the channels can draw water from streams that have their water replenished by the Barron River, which, in turn, is fed by the lake.[5]

The Tinaroo Hydro Power Station became operational in 1963 and generates 1.6 megawatts (2,100 hp), thereby reducing 8,450 tonnes (8,320 long tons; 9,310 short tons) of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.[5] The dam is used to regulate the waterflow for use at the Barron Gorge Power Station, located 81 kilometres (50 mi) downstream from the dam wall.[5]

The townships of Tinaroo, Walkamin, Mareeba, Kuranda, Mutchilba, Dimbulah and Yungaburra are supplied from Tinaroo Dam through the Barron River.[5]

In 1952 the Queensland government approved construction at the dam on the Atherton tablelands in Far North Queensland. It took six years to build costing them 12 million dollars. The dam supplied so much water for the 1000 people that worked there. The dam was 44.5 meters tall. The supply level was 670 meters, and the length of storage was 15 kilometers long. There would have been 100 houses but now there is only 12 because it all has been swept away.

Located on the picturesque Atherton Tableland, with the Tinaroo Range and the Danbulla State Forest surrounding it, Lake Tinaroo provides a popular tourist attraction and recreation facility for over 500,000 people a year.

Lake Tinaroo with the tops of the drowned trees still rising above the water (June 2008)

With over 200 kilometres (120 mi) of shoreline, Lake Tinaroo offers many bays with smooth water that are protected from the wind. To this end, the lake is often used for sailing, water skiing, houseboating and swimming. During the drought of the last few years, some of the trees that were flooded during the dam's creation have become a hazard to boats because of the receding waters. Sunwater, the owners of the dam do not cut down trees due to safety hazards. Cutting trees at water level creates less visible submerged stumps as well as underwater obstructions which can float to areas that have been mapped as clear. Illegal tree clearing is reported to Atherton police and Maritime safety Queensland.[6] There are still large areas of flooded vegetation, including trees and other man-made objects such as telephone poles, which stand around in the waters of the Lake. The degree of exposure varying with the water level.

The lake is surrounded by national park, rainforest, pine tree plantations and Australian "bush". Hiking paths wind in and out of the mountains surrounding the lake and range from a pleasant walk from the parking lot to the water-front, to week-long treks around the lake and its mountains.

Many species of fish and other aquatic animals populate the lake. The barramundi can grow to an enormous size in the lake because they have no natural predators. Each year, the lake is stocked with young barramundi from the Walkamin Research Station as the species is unable to breed in the lake due to the lack of access to salt water. Also present in Lake Tinaroo are eel-tailed catfish, sooty grunter, sleepy cod, mouth almighty, archer fish, spangled perch, long tom and many species of crayfish, including the red-claw and yabby.
A Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish in the dam.

Tilapia were illegally introduced into Lake Tinaroo and are now well established. They have been declared a noxious pest species and must be destroyed and buried if caught. It is illegal to possess, rear, sell or buy tilapia. It is also an offence to release tilapia into Queensland waterways or to use them as bait, live or dead.