Arthur Gorrie

25 Nov 2006

“MY engineering consultant says it’s a crock,” Ron McMah said yes­terday of new State Government at­tempts to ignore his alternative to the proposed Traveston Crossing dam.

Mr McMah confirmed yesterday that he had been approached by se­nior officials of the Queensland Wa­ter Commission, following up on a promise by Deputy Premier Anna Bligh to investigate his plan to har­vest water from the Mary River and store it in a raised Borumba Dam.

But he said the officials had not come to him seeking ways to make the plan work. They seemed more interested, he said, in finding ways for it to fall.

They had asked him to sign off on terms of reference for the investiga­tion, but he said the proposed terms of reference would limit the investi­gation and effectively sabotage its results.

“They did that to my first Borum­ba Dam proposal. They worked on rainfall figures which showed lower levels in the Borumba Dam catch­ment, but they left out relevant con­siderations of run-off and geology.

“For example, 2.5cm in the Bo­rumba Dam catctiment puts nearly 2m in the dam, because it’s solid rock with high run-off and low seep­age and evaporation.

“Wivenhoe, by contrast, has to have more than 6cm before it gets any run-off at all.

“The Traveston Crossing dam would also be high seepage and high evaporation,” he said.

Mr McMah said the new proposed terms of reference to investigate his water harvesting plan contained many traps which would make it ea­sy for officials to fail the plan.

“They wanted me to sign off on them so they could blame me. They said I could have 20 minutes to think about it.

“I refused to sign it. There were too many ways they could knock it. I didn’t feel they were trying to be objective. -

“When people try to rush you, you think twice. I’ve written back to them saying I’m getting my own consultants and advice and I’ll get back to them.

“They can work on my terms of reference, not theirs.

“I told them I don’t want to waste my time if they come up here with blinkers on. They were trying to be too specific, with too many traps, rather than going for a general wide ranging inquiry.

“We’re working on our terms of reference now,” he said.

McMah Plan will be examined, vows Bligh

DEPUTY Premier Anna Bligh yesterday repeated the cômmitihent she gave in Gympie earlier this month regarding examination of a local resident’s proposal for. an alternative to the pro­posed Traveston Crossing dam.

She said the proposal by local resident Ron McMah’s, as outlined at the Traveston Dam public meeting at Gynipie on November 3, in­cluded raising levels on ex­isting dam structures and connecting as many as five catchment areas.

Ms Bligh said that the Go­vernment was engaging in­dependent consultants to examine the proposal.

But she said it required Mr McMah to confirm the terms of reference for eval­uation to ensure that the proposal investigated accu­rately his proposal.

“Representatives of Natu­ral Resources and Water met with Mr McMah on Wednesday to discuss the terms of reference. He said at that meeting he Would get back to government on Thursday - he did not,” Ms Bligh said yesterday.

“He has corresponded with government today (Fri­day) and representatives have also again spoken with him, but he has now indicat­ed that he will reply when ready.

“The commitment to exa­mine his proposal was given in front of more than 1200 people and it will be ho­noured.”

Ms Blight said the govern­ment had examined the proposal and on its own a raised Borumba Dam can­not meet SEQ’s demands.

“It is part of our future strategy, but working in conjunction with the pro­posed Traveston dam.”

In relation to allegations of intimidation of landhol­ders, Ms Bligh said, “We are only dealing with residents on a voluntary basis and I am advised that there is no intimidation, however if any individuals feel that this is genuinely the case they can put their complaint to me in writing on a confidential ba­sis.”

Craig Johnstone and Tuck Thompson
November 24, 2006 11:00pm

THE Beattie Government will spend more than $200 million buying about 300km of water pipes in a bid to ensure southeast Queensland does not run out of water during the drought.

Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh yesterday said the order would be met by three suppliers.

The Goverment plans to build two major pipelines in the next two years.

The Western Corridor pipeline will supply power stations and industry with recycled water and the Southern Regional pipeline will link the Gold Coast’s water sources with Brisbane and other councils.

The Western Corridor pipeline and associated waste water treatment plants constitute the third biggest water recyling project in the world.

However, the project is on an urgent construction timetable as dams and other sources of water fall victim to the drought.
“Sixty-seven per cent (of the pipes) will be locally based and there will be two companies bringing them in from offshore,” Ms Bligh said.

Several sources were being used to ensure supply within tight timeframes, she said.
The news came as politicians near the site of the proposed Traveston Dam site stepped up their calls for the upgrade of the nearby Borumba Dam instead.

Nationals Gympie MP David Gibson said Borumba overflowed this year and with a 300m-long dam wall could generate twice as much water as Traveston.

Mayors representing half a million Mary River area residents all oppose Traveston but support major improvements to Borumba. Despite the opposition, Premier Peter Beattie and Ms Bligh remain committed to Traveston.

Cooloola Shire Mayor Mick Venardos said Imbil cattleman Ron McMah’s suggestion of raising the dam was “absolutely right”. Noosa Mayor Bob Abbot said a major Borumba upgrade had validity.

Borumba has been filled for most of the past 20 years and is at 72 per cent of its 46,000 million litre capacity.

“It has the potential to be four times bigger than Traveston,” said Mr Gibson.

SunWater records show Borumba at 100 per cent capacity from January to March.

Chairman Kevin Ingersole of the Save the Mary River Coordinating Group said the study terms of reference “are aimed at achieving a certain outcome to discredit the proposal. It’s a really silly thing to do”.

Ms Bligh said the Government was engaging independent consultants to examine Mr McMah’s proposal.