Waratah fights to keep its dam open

LABOR has called on the State Government to put up the $3 million TasWater says is needed to bring the Waratah Dam up to standard and delay any decommissioning works until a solution is found.

The Waratah community has started an online petition calling on Premier Will Hodgman to intervene in TasWater’s decision to find a new owner for the 100-yearold dam or drain and remove it if no-one comes forward.

The dam is not used for drinking water and is surplus to TasWater’s requirements.

However, it is home to a number of aquatic species, is used for recreation and has important tourism values to the Waratah region.

“As a first step, decisions on decommissioning should be put on hold until well into the new year and more time needs to be given to find a solution,” Braddon MP Shane Broad said.

“The dam has been in existence for over 100 years so a few more months are hardly going to exacerbate the situation.

“Minister for Primary Industries and Water Jeremy Rockliff should also consider allocating $3 million from his own Government’s infrastructure fund as a possible solution.”

Mr Rockliff said the reason why the dam safety regulator raised concerns was because Taswater had failed to adequately invest in its infrastructure.

“This is yet another reason why the Government should take over Taswater,” he said.

Taswater said in a statement that unless a new owner could be found to upgrade, maintain and monitor the dam, it would will be required by the Dam Safety Regulator to decommission the Waratah Dam.”

TasWater has set a deadline to the end of January to find a new owner.