The water catchment it contains is the major source for the city of Darwin.

The dam can hold up to 259,000 megalitres of water (265,500 ML (58.4×10^9 imp gal; 70.1×10^9 US gal)) which is half the volume in Sydney Harbour or eleven times bigger than the Manton Dam.

In order to preserve this quality, the catchment and reservoir policy prohibits recreational use with substantial penalties imposed for trespassing.

Also, there is no Cabomba, an aquatic weed genus that can affect water quality.

[4] The dam was formally opened by William McMahon (Prime Minister at the time) on 29 June 1972.