By DANE LILLINGSTONE
THE next step in the Emu Swamp Dam project is underway with the announcement from Councillor Vic Pennisi that external funding has been supplied to develop a business case for the project.
Cr Pennisi announced that the Stanthorpe Community Reference Panel has endorsed the recommendation by the Emu Swamp Irrigators subcommittee (ESI) to engage with consulting firm Jacobs in formulating the business plan.
With Federal Government’s recent unveiling of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper and the announcement of a $500 million National Water Infrastructure Fund, the community reference panel said now was the time to take Emu Swamp Dam further.
“Once there is an advanced draft of the business case, all potential irrigators from the dam will be able to provide a detailed and informed response to commercial questions about the volume of water allocations they will purchase at various price points,” a statement said.
The ESI will fund the plan that is expected to be completed in collaboration with the project control group for Emu Swamp Dam and relevant officers in Southern Downs Regional Council with the view of having all stakeholders adopt the final plan.
“In my view, the money could come from many sources such as governments, private sectors, foreign investors, and users of the water,” Cr Pennisi said.
However, Southern Downs Regional Council CEO David Keenan has warned that the vast majority of funding for Emu Swamp Dam will have to come from state and federal sources.
“Council is simply not able to take out loans. The only way that the Emu Swamp Dam project will proceed is with 90 per cent of the funding being provided by the state and federal governments,” he said.
This comes after Emu Swap Dam only received a $20,000 allocation in the SDRC budget, $0 in the state budget and Glen Niven was the only dam with a significant contribution in either budget with $1 million for repairs in the state budget.
Mr Keenan also denied the $250,000 allocated in the SDRC budget for the Emu Swamp Road widening will interfere with the dam.
“The location of the work is to the north of the proposed Emu Swamp Dam site,” he said.
He also said there was still no indication of when the dam would go ahead.
“It’s a process council is working through, and we can’t put a timeframe on it,” he said.
A State Government project overview pegs the 10,500 megalitre urban and irrigation supply dam at $76 million.
Cr Pennisi said there were no guarantees in life but that he remained enthusiastic with the project, rubbishing claims that other dams might be affected and reaffirmed that Emu Swamp Dam was the best option available for water supply on the Granite Belt.
“There are many dams in the Emu Swamp Dam sub catchment, Glen Niven is one of them, and given that Glen Niven is upstream of ESD I cannot see how it will be impacted at all,” he said.
“There have been many investigations done in the past, desilting or raising Storm King Dam, build dams on Quart pot Creek, Pietries Crossing, Ballandean, pumping water from Connelly dam, and exploring bringing water over the range from the Clarence. Currently, the focus is on delivering ESD, it’s the one that has been identified to deliver the best outcome for the Granite Belt.”
