It was built in 1921 to supply additional water to Port Pirie as part of the Beetaloo Reservoir distribution network.

[1] The dam is no longer used to supply drinking water, but is maintained as an emergency water source in the event that the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline fails.

[2] In 2018, Rise Renewables won grant funding of $3 million towards an estimated total cost of A$406 million to accelerate a proposal to establish a pumped hydro storage facility using Baroota Reservoir.

At the time, the government funded the development of several proposals, as South Australia had wind and solar power generation, and grid-connected batteries but no pumped hydro storage.

Rise Renewables also has a proposal for the Bridle Track Solar Project which could provide electricity to power the pump.