Commenced in March 1968, commissioned in 1973, and completed in 1976, the Copeton Dam is a major dam on the Gwydir River, a tributary of the Barwon River, and is located approximately southwest of Inverell, between Bingara and Bundarra. The dam was built by the New South Wales Water Conservation & Irrigation Commission and the Department of Water Resources to supply water for irrigation. Water from the dam is now released directly into the Gwydir River which is used by irrigators downstream of the dam including for pecan nut farming, and for producing cotton, wheat, lucerne, vegetables, fruit trees, oil seeds and fodder as well as pastures for sheep and cattle.