THE NSW Government has given the go ahead for the construction of a dam on the Belubula River in the central west of the state.
Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner has announced that the first dam to be built in NSW in almost three decades will be allocated funding from a $325 million Water Security for the Regions program, to drought-proof and secure water supplies in rural areas.
The ABC reports the 90,000 megalitre dam will be built south of Orange, the town soon to have its water supply backed up by the controversial Macquarie River pipleine project. See related coverage here, here and here.
Andrew Stoner has flagged $150 million from the 2014/15 Budget, will be spent on the initial construction of the Needles Gap dam along the Belubula River, south of Orange.
“We want to leave a legacy of transparency and improved standards of living for those regional people that our party is proud to represent,” he says.
Local farmer, John Toohey, is happy about the announcement, even though his property and century old homestead, will go completely under water.
“I think it’s fantastic because I have been part of that Needles area since 1967 and to see the amount of water that goes through there and is not contained is very sad,” he says.
He says that it’s a good site for a dam because although it is more difficult to access than the nearby Carcoar Dam, the deep gorge landscape, provides a perfect capsule for holding large volumes of water.
Grazier and wine maker, Ben Crossing owns 5000 acres, at the Needles Gap site. He says that he wants consultation on the project very soon.
“In principle I am not opposed to dams, but we don’t know really the size or scope of the dam, so we’d be pretty keen to hear a bit more detail,
“We haven’t had any consultation, nothing really specific from anyone on the ground as such,” he says.
Downstream from the Belubula River is the Lachlan River. Dennis Moxey, vice chair of Lachlan Valley Water, says that while it’s a welcome announcement, it has come as somewhat of a shock.
“It’s actually caught up on us a little bit, because we were in consultation with NSW Irrigators Council about maybe another storage in NSW and all of a sudden we find that it’s been announced.”
The Inland Rivers Network President Bev Smiles, says that the $150 million dedicated to building the new dam should be spent improving water efficiency in towns and on farms.
“Water efficiency, demand management and recycling are cheaper and less environmentally harmful than new dams.”
“Proposing a new dam to achieve water security displays a lamentable lack of imagination, and a failure to learn the lessons of the past,” she says.
Meanwhile, the Nature Conservation Council NSW Chief Executive Officer Pepe Clarke, says that dams cause environmental problems, such as degrading river systems .
“Former Premier Barry O’Farrell recognised this when he opposed the construction of the Tillegra Dam as a solution to Newcastle’s water supply needs,” he says.
The announcement of the new dam has also highlighted the fact that an extensive, culturally significant cave network containing 32 species of fossil corals and scientifically significant fossils will be flooded once construction is completed. Read the details HERE.
Read more on this story at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-13/nsw-government-announces-first-dam-in-three-decades/5522384
