The State Government has scrapped a plan to build a new dam for Tamworth in north-western NSW following a withdrawal of funding and Agency advice.
Scrapping the project the Minister for Water, Rose Jackson said the Dungowan Dam project would not proceed following the Federal Government’s decision to withdraw funding and advice from various experts and Agencies, including Infrastructure NSW.
The project, first announced in 2019, would have seen the existing Dungowan Dam replaced and the construction of a new 55-kilometre pipeline to connect Calala Water Treatment Plant to the new dam.
Ms Jackson said the move would save NSW taxpayers $632 million and would enable the State to look at more affordable and effective water security options for the region.
“We know there is a major water security issue in this region and we are committed to addressing it but at the end of the day the numbers didn’t stack up,” Ms Jackson said.
“Both Infrastructure NSW and Infrastructure Australia had serious concerns about the cost-benefit ratio of the new Dungowan Dam and did not recommend putting this project on the infrastructure priority list, and now the Australian Government has pulled funding for the project,” she said.
“On top of this, I have always had serious concerns about the viability of the project because it would take 10 years to build and fill the new dam, putting the region’s shorter term water security at serious risk.
“It is going to take more than just a new dam to solve the water security issues for Tamworth.”
Ms Jackson said she was now receiving briefings from the Department of Planning and Environment on a range of infrastructure and non-infrastructure options that could be implemented within a shorter timeframe.
She said the final Namoi Water Strategy would be released in the coming weeks, with a shortlist of options to improve water security in the region.
“But I want to be clear that any projects we support must be affordable and effective and are not to increase the divide between agriculture and the environment,” the Minister said.
“Some of these options including advanced water treatment plants, purified recycled water facilities along with water efficiency and demand management options to make existing water supplies go further.”
She said other ideas on the table included intervalley pipelines from the west of Tamworth between Keepit Dam or Split Rock Dam and from the east of Tamworth from the Manning Valley, “there are also off-river storages and better use of the reserve in Chaffey Dam in the mix.”
“We need to investigate every option and whatever decisions we make will be based on evidence, including state-of-the-art climate science, so Tamworth is in a stronger position to manage water in a drier climate,” Ms Jackson said.
The NSW and Australian Government’s funding for stage one of the pipeline has not been impacted and the pipeline is due for completion mid-2023.
