Construction on the dam began in 1959, although land for the project was resumed as early as 1916. Completed in 1961 as the central catchment of the Warrill Valley Water Supply Scheme, the concrete dam structure is high and long and allows access to Mount Edwards in Moogerah Peaks National Park. The dam wall holds back the reservoir when at full capacity. From a catchment area of that includes much of the northeastern slopes of the Main Range, the dam creates Lake Moogerah, with a surface area of . The uncontrolled spillway has a discharge capacity of . Initially managed by SunWater, management of the dam was transferred to Seqwater in July 2008 as part of a water security project in the South East Queensland region, known as the South East Queensland Water Grid.