A week on from the QLD Governments controversial announcement that they had passed Traveston to Minister Garrett for approval, they continue to stand by their argument that “Traveston Dam is the best option”.
The Wide Bay Burnett Conservation Council (WBBCC) has rebuked this claim and argue that mandatory demand management and more sustainable water practices for agriculture and industry in SEQ, is a better option than a shallow dam at risk of serious evaporation.
Roger Currie, Water Policy Officer for WBBCC said “The people of SEQ are currently using 200 litres of water per person per day, this low level of usage negates the need for Traveston Dam. The deputy Premier is using scare tactics, rather than stating the truth.”
The Supplementary EIS for the Northern Pipeline Interconnection (NPI), designed to take water from Traveston to The Sunshine Coast and on to Brisbane, shows that the pipeline had to be redesigned to allow reverse flow capacity, allowing water to be pumped from North Pine Dam back to the Sunshine Coast. As quoted in the EIS, “On 20th February 2009 The Honorable Paul Lucas MP Minister Deputy Premier and former Minister for Infrastructure and Planning announced NPI stages 1 & 2 could operate as a reverse flow pipeline, providing Link Water with the capability to transport water to the Sunshine Coast from the North Pine water treatment plant, during times of localised drought.”
In reference to the above statement, Emma-Kate Currie Coordinator for WBBCC said, “The Deputy Premier stated in Parliament that they may need to pipe water from Brisbane’s supply back to the Sunshine Coast in times of drought. It indicates that the due to climate change modeling, the government has realized that Traveston is not capable of yielding the 70,000 megalitres per year to supply the needs of both Brisbane and The Sunshine Coast, therefore not ‘drought proofing the SEQ’ as it is claimed to do.”
In response to statements made by The Deputy Premier to the ABC this morning: “It’ll be an extra desalination plant and it will be more expensive and people’s water will go up further,” and
“Traveston is a good solution, it is a good outcome, and if people say they shouldn’t be building Traveston, then they should be consistent and say we should never build another dam anywhere in Queensland”
Roger Currie said, “The deputy premier is misleading the public by claiming that, because the ‘cost of Traveston dam’ does not include the costs of pumping the water to Brisbane, the economic and social costs to the people of the Mary catchment and the economic costs to the fisheries and tourism dollars from the Great Sandy RAMSAR .”
“When these costs are added to the $1.5 B, Traveston will actually cost $3B, which makes it the most expensive dam in the world, and more than 3 times the cost of desalination and recycling” said Mr Currie.
The ABC story said, ‘Mr Lucas says while opponents have the right to protest, the dam is still important.’
“WBBCC agrees with the Deputy Premier that Traveston is important: it is important because the federal Minister realizes that you can’t build a 45 M high dam smack in the middle of the Qld lungfish and Mary turtle habit, with no credible science based protection mechanisms, and expect them to survive, the science proves that, and the Federal court case concerning, Paradise dam will up hold it,” said Roger Currie.
“The point we are trying to make is this: With all the controversy, all the heart ache, all the science to suggest the dam will evaporate and a legal case to challenge the ability of dams to effectively protect threatened species, is Traveston Dam, really, the best option?” said Miss Currie.
