MCARTHUR CALLS FOR OTWAYS DAM
Member for Western Victoria Region, Bev McArthur used an adjournment debate in parliament this week to ask the Minister for Water to construct new dams in Victoria, particularly in the Otway Ranges.
Sixty percent of Melbourne’s water storage capacity comes from the Thomson Dam, which has seven times the capacity of the energy inefficient Desalination Plant. The Federal Minister for Water Resources has encouraged all state governments to begin constructing new dam projects to bulwark against future droughts. On Sunday the Prime Minister and New South Wales Premier announced a joint state-federal government investment to upgrade the Wyangala Dam and build the new Dungowan Dam.
Instead of working with the federal government to begin constructing a Victorian dam, the Victorian Minister for Water suggested that new dams would mean “less water for all” and that climate change means that there will not be enough water to flow into them.
Bev McArthur said “Victoria should follow the NSW government’s lead and begin constructing its own dams, such as one in the Otway Ranges, where rainfall can be as high as 75 inches annually.”
Bev McArthur said “Barwon Water in 2016 withheld the sale of land at Dewing Creek, given that it was a potential site for a new dam. The community played a large role in the campaign against this sale, and as such are clearly very supportive of the prospect of a new dam in this location, which would provide countless jobs to the local community and support the Geelong area’s water security.”
“Dams are crucial to Victoria’s future water security, given that our population continues to rapidly grow and our current water infrastructure, such as the energy-guzzling desalination plant, will be insufficient to cater for our future water consumption needs.”
“The Minister should follow the advice of the federal water resources minister and work with water authorities and local communities on the provision of new dams in Victoria, especially in the high rainfall area of the Otways,” she concluded.
17 October 2019