By Lucy Waldron
Public consultation for the Southern and Darling Downs Draft Regional Water Assessment took place in Stanthorpe on Thursday, 30 November, followed by Warwick on Friday, 1 December.
The sessions served as a crucial platform for the community to voice opinions and concerns about the region’s water supply issues.
In Stanthorpe, the consultation was thoughtfully structured, accommodating various stakeholders such as growers, agricultural businesses, and environmental groups.
The day was divided into parts, allowing for a more structured dialogue with specific interest groups, followed by an open session where anyone could drop in, ask questions, or share their opinions.
With over 100 attendees throughout the day, the participants represented a diverse cross-section of the community, including families, business owners, the elderly, and both longtime and new residents of Stanthorpe.
Warwick’s public consultation, in contrast, adopted a drop-in format with a steady flow of attendees throughout the session.
The different approaches in Stanthorpe and Warwick were designed to address the unique challenges faced by Stanthorpe, which has a history of long-standing water issues and Warwick’s involvement as well.
Chris McKenna from the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing, and Water explained the rationale behind the varied formats, emphasizing the importance of public consultation in the assessment process.
“By doing these consultations, we get a wider reach and hear the concerns of those it affects,“ Mr McKenna said.
“We are hearing a lot of the same points that have been brought up throughout the process, but this is good because we’ve been speaking with the stakeholders, and now it is time to listen to the people.“
The public consultation process will conclude on 14 December, after which the assessment will be submitted to the government for a final decision.
A focal point of the draft assessment for the Granite Belt region is the reliability of water supply for both urban and irrigation purposes. The assessment proposes four options to address this issue: innovative solutions to reduce on-farm evaporation, regional-scale non-potable recycled water for irrigation, the Warwick Recycled Water Scheme, the Granite Belt Irrigation Project (Emu Swamp Dam), or the Warwick to Stanthorpe Pipeline via Connolly Dam.
As the community actively engages in the consultation process, the decision-makers will consider the diverse range of perspectives to determine the most effective and sustainable solution for the region’s water challenges.
