Seqwater is this week celebrating 50 years of Hinze Dam, recognising five decades of water security for hundreds of thousands of residents, while also being one of the Gold Coast's most popular recreation destinations.

Manager Operations Southern Region Brendan Coady said Hinze Dam had been at the heart of the Gold Coast's growth and prosperity for generations.

“Most people don't think about where their water comes from when they turn on the tap, but for 50 years, Hinze Dam has been working behind the scenes to provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water that Gold Coasters depend on every day,” Mr Coady said.

“The lake has also become a popular tourist hotspot, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors each year to enjoy its natural beauty, walking trails, paddling and outdoor experiences. The dam has even featured as the backdrop for major film productions.”

Built in 1976, Hinze Dam has evolved to meet the needs of a rapidly growing Gold Coast, with major upgrades in 1989 and 2011.

The 2011 upgrade doubled the dam's capacity to more than 310,000 megalitres and raised the wall to 108 metres, boosting the region's water security.

The project also delivered the Hinze Fishway, which has since helped transfer more than 500,000 native fish upstream.

Mr Coady said the dam’s anniversary was a chance to celebrate the Seqwater engineers, operators and staff who work quietly behind the scenes every day to ensure the dam delivers one of life's most essential resources to the Gold Coast community.

Fast Facts

The Dam:

• Hinze Dam is the main drinking water supply for the Gold Coast.
• It is an un-gated dam, meaning once it reaches 100 per cent capacity, water flows over the spillway and safely out of the dam.
• The dam holds 310,730 megalitres of water at full supply, the equivalent of about 124,300 Olympic sized swimming pools.
• The Hinze Dam crest is 108.5 metres above sea level, the highest clay rock dam in Queensland.
• It was originally constructed in 1976, raised in 1989 and significantly upgraded in 2011.
• The 2011 upgrade saw the wall raised by 15 metres, doubling the dam’s capacity.

Recreation:

• It is a popular recreation destination featuring lakeside parks, trails for walking, biking and a mountain bike precinct. Visit the things to do page for the full recreation guide.

The Fishway:

• The Hinze Fishway was one of Australia's first trap-and-haul systems.
• Fish migrating upstream are guided into traps below the dam, where staff separate native species from pest fish.
• The native fish are carefully transported and released upstream into the reservoir, allowing them to continue their natural migration.
• Seqwater staff have released more than 500,000 native fish into the dam.

Hinze History:

• Hinze Dam is built across the Nerang River and named after pioneer settlers Carl and Johanna Hinze, who settled in the Nerang Valley in the 1880s after immigrating from Germany.
• The family farmed corn, potatoes and pumpkins, and later built several homes on the property. The land was sold in 1950.
• Today, the only remaining feature of the original property is a mango tree that once stood beside the family home.

Things you may not know:

• The longest Hinze Dam spill was in 2022. The dam spilled for 224 days.
• Gum leaves in the Hinze catchment are collected and fed to koalas at Dreamworld, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and David Fleay Wildlife Park.
• Hinze Dam will feature in this year’s Gold Coast Open house weekend, with guided tours on offer on 11 October. Visit goldcoastopenhouse.com.au
• To receive Hinze Dam spilling updates, sign up to Seqwater’s free dam notification service.