Reservoir · Queensland · Australia · BOM Water Data Online
Fairbairn
26.6% full
Capacity
1,301.1 hm³
Volume stored
347 hm³
River
Nogoa River
Year completed
1972
Coordinates
23.693°S, 147.998°E
Last updated
2026-10-11
Current fill
26.6%vs 7 days ago
-0.3%losing
vs 1 year ago
+7.7%year-over-year
7-day trend
→stable
Drought context
Storage vs October average
99%of normal
26.6% full on 2026-10-11, against an average of 26.9% for October across 4 years of readings (-0.3 points).
Rain over the last three months · 21 September 2026
Moderately dry
In the three months to 21 September 2026 the area around Fairbairn had well below normal rain, a shortfall seen about one year in six. Rainfall compared with the long-run record for the same season at this point (Copernicus Global Drought Observatory, SPI-3 index −1.25). Rain, not storage. Australia drought figures →
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology — Water Data Online (KiWIS) — daily mean storage volume, quality-controlled. Capacity from the BOM Water Storages ArcGIS layer (total design capacity in ML). Last reading: 2026-10-11.
Catchment Weather
Past 30 days + 14-day forecast · Open-Meteo
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics. Map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors. -23.693, 147.998 · Open in Google Maps
About Fairbairn
As of October 11, 2026, Fairbairn is filled to 26.6% of its total capacity, holding roughly 347 hm³ of water out of a maximum 1,301 hm³. At this level the reservoir is low. Of that total, about 1,289 hm³ is usable (live) storage.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has held broadly steady (-0.3 pts), and it is 7.7 points above its level on the same date a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Fairbairn — 1095 data points between October 13, 2023 and October 11, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 16.1% (January 10, 2026) to a high of 44.7% (February 22, 2024). On average the reservoir is fullest around April and at its lowest around December.
The dam at Fairbairn was completed in 1972. It is operated by BOM primarily for water supply. It lies within the Nogoa River Basin basin at 23.693°S, 147.998°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 26.6%
- Water stored
- 347 hm³
- Total capacity
- 1,301 hm³
- Usable capacity
- 1,289 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▼ 0.3 pts
- Year-on-year
- ▲ 7.7 pts
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Nogoa River
- River basin
- Nogoa River Basin
- Year completed
- 1972
- Operator
- BOM
- Coordinates
- 23.693°S, 147.998°E
- Last updated
- October 11, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 2026 | 26.6% | 347 |
| 10 Oct 2026 | 26.7% | 347 |
| 9 Oct 2026 | 26.7% | 348 |
| 8 Oct 2026 | 26.8% | 348 |
| 7 Oct 2026 | 26.8% | 349 |
| 6 Oct 2026 | 26.8% | 349 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 26.8% | 349 |
| 4 Oct 2026 | 26.9% | 350 |
| 3 Oct 2026 | 26.9% | 350 |
| 2 Oct 2026 | 27.0% | 351 |
| 1 Oct 2026 | 27.0% | 352 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | 27.1% | 353 |