Burdekin Falls Dam is located approximately 200 km southeast of Townsville and was constructed between 1982 and 1987.  It comprises a mass concrete main dam with a maximum height of around 55 m and a crest length of approximately 875 m.  It has a central free-overflow spillway, which is around 500 m wide.  In addition to the main dam, there are 4.5 km of clay core rockfill saddle dams up to approximately 35 m in height.  A unique characteristic of the dam is its large catchment, which is approximately 115,000 km2 and associated large floods.

Stantec Australia Pty Limited (Stantec) were commissioned by Sunwater (SW) to undertake the preliminary design of the Burdekin Falls Dam Improvement Project (BFDIP) and the Burdekin Falls Dam Raise Project (BFDRP).  The BFDIP looks to improve the safety of the dam, by increasing the stability of the main dam by the use of post-tensioned foundation anchors and/or concrete buttressing and increasing the dams freeboard (raising both the main dam and saddle dams).   The BFDRP considers larger raises of the dam for increased water storage, with two raise heights considered as part of the preliminary design (2 m and 6 m).  The two projects were combined into a single project for delivery, for which a Detailed Business Case is being developed.

Stantec engaged Geological Consulting to lead the engineering geology required to support preliminary design.  Key tasks included a review of information from the original investigation and construction of the dam, a Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) of the existing dam, the scoping and implementation of new investigations, characterisation of the dam foundation and construction materials, and engineering geological analyses (such as for the stability of the dam foundation and abutments).