The lake was constructed in 1974 to collect stormwater discharge from a 98.8 square kilometres (38.1 sq mi) catchment that includes the surrounding suburbs of Aranda, Macquarie, Cook, Bruce, Belconnen, McKellar, Giralang, Kaleen in the eastern areas of Belconnen.

The lake is home to much wildlife, such as the Black swan, moorhens, ducks and the Rakali.

The lake has a surface area of 1.05 square kilometres (0.41 sq mi) and an average depth of 3.5 metres (11 ft).

Water flow out of the lake is via a multi-celled concrete culvert structure and spillway chute on the Ginninderra Drive embankment.

The Belconnen Arts Centre and the Lake Ginninderra Sea Scouts are located on its southern shore.