Spray

An event that hasn't been seen in at a decade....water being released from Somerset Dam in large quantities.

There was a LOT of spray in the air, and I only got a few rushed shots before I deemed the camera was getting too wet.

Built between 1935 and 1959, Somerset Dam is a major part of the water supply chain for Brisbane and surrounding areas. Currently it is at 88% full and thus water is being released downstream to Wivenhoe Dam to allow for further rainfall and provide a regulated flow downstream.

View all photos taken: Sunday, 7th September 2008, This photo: 4:41pm

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Comments

  • Warwick (wazzam) said:
    woohoo - thar she blows. It must be a welcome sight.
  • accesser said:
    Very nice shot and very cool to see.
  • David de Groot said:
    Indeed it is :)
    I remember going to see this as a wee lad with my Grandparents when it was actually a public viewing platform (bottom left of photo) - it's closed to the public now (actually so is where we were standing, but one has to do these things sometimes) ;-)
  • David de Groot said:
    Thanks :) A welcome sight indeed.
  • [ Kane ] said:
    Wicked mate! stoked you got to see this ....
  • -Gadabout- said:
    All bodes well for our water supply :D
  • Xenedis said:
    Looks like you were in the right dam place at the right dam time.
    Dam!
  • suburbanvoodoo said:
    Great shot David - makes me wanna crack a beer or 3 ! :-)
  • HPVD Photos said:
    Brilliant shot, being there would have even been better.
  • David de Groot said:
    I heard on the radio the other day that they were thinking of releasing water from Somerset, so I was quite pleased to see they actually were when we got there. I was less pleased to see that the road to the spillway is now a restricted area.
    That it does :)
    Dam right ;-)
    Have one for me too :)
  • David de Groot said:
    Being there was exceedingly damp.
  • -Gadabout- said:
    I don't feel so bad for washing 2 cars today !! Washed them both by bucket, but still, all that water running down the driveway...just didn't feel right.
  • suburbanvoodoo said:
    "Hiccup" - your wish is my command "Hiccup"
  • teejaybee said:
    Nice!
  • aramisfirefly said:
    Oh very nice dude. Might have to get up there soon myself.
  • Garry' said:
    Remarkable sight David, sure we can come up with some ideas for water sport here
    --
    Seen on your photo stream. (?)
  • David de Groot said:
    hehehe We're on tanks, so I'm never guilty about washing the cars - mind you they don't generally get washed anyway, but when they do, I'm not guilty about it.
    Don't forget the whiskey chaser! :)
    Definitely a pretty nifty sight to behold. Took me back to my childhood it did.
    It's worth it - dunno how long they'll release water for though.
    Extreme Wake-boarding perhaps ? ;-)
  • suburbanvoodoo said:
    "Hiicuup" KO.....will doo "Hiccarp" wont fforgete the whissssssssskee chasa "Hiccuupp"
  • thebookfreak58 said:
    Oooo nice shot Dave. Good to see that the drought is slowly (but surely) breaking.
  • Margot- said:
    So you have a lot of rains this year, which is good.
  • David de Groot said:
    That it is, at least on the East Coast anyway - I hear it's still pretty dry further west.
    Indeed Margot :) Can't complain - our tanks are pretty much full and at this time last year we were starting to think about getting water shipped in.
  • Panorama Paul said:
    Wow... what a powerful force that must be! Makes for a really powerful photograph too!!
  • David de Groot said:
    I'll say - the dam holds 380,000 Megalitres when full, it's currently 88% full, so that's 334,400 Megalitres of water applying pressure to the outfall :)
  • Wes Cooper said:
    Great shot David. Good to see you've got so much water, if only we had somewhere near that in Perth.
  • David de Groot said:
    Well the main dam is still not stellar (below 40%) but it's a start. We've had a good yeah this year in the South East of the state, but other areas of Qld haven't been so lucky.
  • Jack High said:
    That is some force. Good to see you've got some water up there.
  • David de Groot said:
    'tis a good thing indeed :)