Faith in dams

Brisbane relies on dams for flood mitigation. But dams do not prevent floods, particularly if rain falls downstream. Somerset Dam was constructed in the 1950s for the dual concerns of flood and drought. It provides flood mitigation and water supply. But it also contributed to a public faith in dams, fuelled by the media and nicknamed the ‘Somerset Dam Syndrome’.

Margaret Cook (2018) “It Will Never Happen Again”: The Myth of Flood Immunity in Brisbane” Journal of Australian Studies

Charles Barton “Opening Address” in: Proceedings of Symposium: January 1974 Floods Moreton Region Queensland Institute of Technology, April 3 & 10, 1974

Image: Somerset Dam under construction in Queensland, ca. 1935. Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.