Owned by NQ Water, Lake Ross stores over 200,000 million litres of water and supplies up to 80 per cent of the region's potable water supply. The dam wall stretches 8.3 kilometres across the Ross River floodplain (longest in the Southern Hemisphere) providing an additional flood mitigation benefit to the downstream community.

In recognition of its habitat values, Lake Ross is listed as a Wetland of National Significance. The extensive shallow margins of the lake provide habitat for a diversity of water birds. The lake is also surrounded by thousands of hectares of unspoilt open savannah teeming with wildlife. Over 220 species of bird have been recorded on or around the lake to date.