Toowoomba region's Cressbrook, Cooby Dams remain closed to public after heavy rainfall

Two dams remain closed to the public following the recent heavy rainfall event, with no reopening date made available by the council.

Footage of Cooby Dam at full capacity.

Two of Toowoomba’s main dams will remain closed to the public indefinitely, with the council unable to reveal when Cressbrook and Cooby will reopen.

The council closed the dams in recent weeks following another massive rain event this month that caused all three water sources to spill over, creating safety hazards for swimmers, fishers and other enthusiasts.

The heavy rainfall also created debris and damaged infrastructure at the dams, which the council said it needed to fix and check.

Teams are also monitoring the algae and bacteria levels in all three dams.

Environment and community services portfolio leader, councillor Tim McMahon said while Perseverance Dam was now open to limited activities, he had no timeline on when the other two would be available to the public.

“At Cooby and Cressbrook, debris from the recent rain events is currently being cleared and key infrastructure checked,” he said.

“These dam areas will be opened as soon as possible to allow secondary contact activities such as fishing and boating.

“For now, we ask the public to monitor council’s web site for the status of each dam.

“All dams are expected to reopen soon in the absence of further heavy rainfall inflows.”

Toowoomba’s combined dam storage levels are at 101 per cent as of May 27, with 127,000 megalitres at the region’s disposal.

It’s the highest capacity the council has seen since the major flood events that hit Queensland between 2011 and 2013.

While most of the region’s towns and communities have moved to low-level water restrictions (200 litres per person daily), Greenmount, Pittsworth, Brookstead, Southbrook and Nobby are still on medium-level water use rules (175 litres per person daily).

Cambooya, Clifton and Vale View are still on high-level restrictions, or no more than 150 litres per person daily.