Designed by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria, construction commenced in 1973 and was completed in 1979 by Thiess Brothers, at a cost of 179 million. The embankment dam wall is constructed with an earth core and rock fill, rising to a height of from the lowest part of the foundation to the roadway across the top of the dam; making the dam wall the highest in Australia. The core component materials of the wall include of rock, of filter material made from crushed quarried rock, and of earth for the core. The reservoir has a capacity of , or approximately 6.7 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour; and can release a maximum outflow of approximately per day in normal operation.