By ALENA HIGGINS
SOUTHERN Downs Regional Council (SDRC) may be forced to borrow $5 million from its capital works budget to start the Emu Swamp Dam project.
While construction is still at least two years away, consultants have advised council to begin the land acquisition process and start implementing environmental offsets.
The estimated cost to purchase 18 properties, 15 of which are privately owned, is between $3.3 to $3.5 million.
SDRC director of Engineering Services Peter See said the remainder of the funds would be spent on preliminary design planning, engaging a turtle passage expert, mitigating environmental impacts and “lots of other little bits and pieces”.
When asked if he was concerned the project could fall through leaving council severely out of pocket, Mr See said that was unlikely.
“I think it is unlikely we won’t get approval from the Federal Government because the Federal Government has been involved in the whole process with the Coordinator-General (who recently approved the project),” he said.
Emu Swamp Dam is one of 27 water infrastructure projects nationwide identified by the Water Infrastructure Ministerial Working Group as a “priority to progress” in the Coalition’s bid to future-proof Australia’s water storage capacity.
Currently, there is no specific funding bucket at state or federal level for building dams, but Mr See said councillors had already started lobbying.
Mr See said it would be up to the region’s elected representatives to determine which capital works could be pushed back in order free up the $5 million needed, adding it may not necessarily be roads that take the hit.
“The capital works budget is much bigger than roads, it includes sewerage and lots of things,” he said.
Niall Carey, a senior environmental engineer with Jacobs Consultancy, told councillors at the October general meeting that in order to get the dam approved, council will have to demonstrate it has addressed regulator concerns over threatened flora and fauna. This includes replacing lost vegetation in the inundation and buffer zones, which will span 196 hectares.
While the environmental offsets would have to be maintained and managed by council “effectively for eternity”, Mr See said the need to secure Stanthorpe’s urban water supply was far greater than the extra burdens the dam imposed.
Council plans to appoint a project manager to assist with the massive undertaking of building the 10,500 mega-litre dam, which is expected to cost about $76 million to complete.
“This is definitely the biggest thing we are ever likely to do,” Mr See said.
