Lake Julius
title: "Lake Julius" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["north-west-queensland", "reservoirs-in-queensland"] topic_path: "general/north-west-queensland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Julius" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Lake Julius (Julius Dam) |
| image | Julius Dam 2010.jpg |
| pushpin_map | Queensland |
| location | 70 km North East of Mount Isa, Queensland |
| coords | |
| lake_type | reservoir |
| inflow | Leichhardt River, Paroo Creek |
| outflow | Leichhardt River |
| catchment | 4,845 km2 |
| basin_countries | Australia |
| area | 1,255 ha |
| depth | 8.9 m |
| max-depth | 25.2 m |
| volume | 107,500 ML |
| reference | |
| elevation | 223.54 m |
| :: |
| name = Lake Julius (Julius Dam) | image = Julius Dam 2010.jpg | caption = | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | pushpin_map = Queensland | location = 70 km North East of Mount Isa, Queensland | coords = | lake_type = reservoir | inflow = Leichhardt River, Paroo Creek | outflow = Leichhardt River | catchment = 4,845 km2 | basin_countries = Australia | length = | width = | area = 1,255 ha | depth = 8.9 m | max-depth = 25.2 m | volume = 107,500 ML | reference = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = 223.54 m | islands = | cities = Lake Julius was formed following the construction of Julius Dam in 1976 for irrigation and town water storage. The dam wall is located just below the junction of the Leichhardt River and Paroo Creek some 70 km North East of Mount Isa. With a catchment area of 4845 km2 it has a full supply capacity, at a supply level of 223.54m AHD, of 107500 ML, a surface area of 1255 ha with an average depth of 8.9 m.
The dam is unique in Queensland and is a concrete multiple arch and buttress type structure, with the spillway discharging over the tops of the arches. The spillway crest is 18.3 m above bed level. The arch barrels, founded on a triangular arch base, are constructed in independent arch rings and are hinged at buttress springing lines. The spillway is a precast superstructure and the dissipation slab at ground level is post tensioned to the foundation rock.
The dam has had operational volumes ranging between a low of 59.22%, recorded on 24 November 2014, and a high of 169.73%, recorded on 15 January 2004. The high being due to record breaking rainfall upstream in the Mt. Isa area.
SunWater is undertaking a dam spillway capacity upgrade program.
Climate
Lake Julius has a tropical semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh) with a short, highly erratic wet season from December to March and a long, slightly cooler dry season from April to November. The wettest recorded day was 3 February 2019 with 204.2 mm of rainfall. Extreme temperatures ranged from 46.7 C on 21 December 2018 to 4.8 C on 20 July 2024.
|location = Lake Julius () (237 m AMSL) (2013-2025) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 45.5 |Feb record high C = 43.8 |Mar record high C = 43.6 |Apr record high C = 39.6 |May record high C = 38.5 |Jun record high C = 34.3 |Jul record high C = 36.0 |Aug record high C = 37.9 |Sep record high C = 40.6 |Oct record high C = 42.8 |Nov record high C = 44.4 |Dec record high C = 46.7 |Jan high C = 37.7 |Feb high C = 36.2 |Mar high C = 35.6 |Apr high C = 33.8 |May high C = 29.7 |Jun high C = 27.1 |Jul high C = 26.8 |Aug high C = 29.2 |Sep high C = 33.4 |Oct high C = 37.2 |Nov high C = 38.0 |Dec high C = 38.8 |Jan low C = 26.0 |Feb low C = 24.9 |Mar low C = 24.1 |Apr low C = 21.2 |May low C = 17.7 |Jun low C = 14.0 |Jul low C = 12.9 |Aug low C = 14.2 |Sep low C = 18.2 |Oct low C = 22.3 |Nov low C = 24.4 |Dec low C = 26.0 |Jan record low C = 20.6 |Feb record low C = 19.9 |Mar record low C = 18.0 |Apr record low C = 12.2 |May record low C = 8.1 |Jun record low C = 6.2 |Jul record low C = 4.8 |Aug record low C = 7.1 |Sep record low C = 9.9 |Oct record low C = 13.3 |Nov record low C = 15.8 |Dec record low C = 18.1 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 117.4 |Feb precipitation mm = 156.2 |Mar precipitation mm = 100.8 |Apr precipitation mm = 3.2 |May precipitation mm = 4.9 |Jun precipitation mm = 10.7 |Jul precipitation mm = 11.9 |Aug precipitation mm = 4.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 12.0 |Oct precipitation mm = 26.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 42.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 85.4 |year precipitation mm = 541.9 |unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm |Jan precipitation days = 11.0 |Feb precipitation days = 9.6 |Mar precipitation days = 6.4 |Apr precipitation days = 0.8 |May precipitation days = 1.1 |Jun precipitation days = 1.0 |Jul precipitation days = 1.2 |Aug precipitation days = 0.4 |Sep precipitation days = 1.7 |Oct precipitation days = 3.3 |Nov precipitation days = 6.3 |Dec precipitation days = 7.8 |source = Bureau of Meteorology (2013-2025){{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_029181_All.shtml |title = Lake Julius AWS Climate Statistics (2013-2025) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = January 16, 2026}}
References
References
- "Sunwater Current Water Storage Information".
- "Julius Dam".
- [http://www.sunwater.com.au/current_projects_Spillway.htm Spillway Capacity Upgrade Program] {{webarchive. link. (2008-02-13)
- "Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes". [[Bureau of Meteorology]].
- "Lake Julius AWS Climate (2013-2025)". [[Australian Community Media]].
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