Belated dam works to secure water supply

DAM works first announced five years ago to secure the water surety in the Smithton and Stanley communities is finally set to begin.

TasWater announced in July, 2015, that the Mikany Dam would receive a $7.3 million upgrade with work due to be completed in 2018.

TasWater yesterday said the initial project did not proceed because an additional assessment of the dam was needed.

“Following the completion of this, the project was migrated to the Capital Delivery Office where the design and execution strategy was rigorously analysed and refined,” a spokesman said.

The dam, built in 1972, is fed by the Deep and Muckeye creeks catchment and is the main source of water for the communities connected to the

TasWater network. “At the time, the construction of the dam adhered to dam regulations but now an upgrade is needed to provide greater water security for the region,” TasWater project manager for the Capital Delivery Office Colm O’Sheehan said.

Northern Tasmanian construction company Gradco has been selected to undertake the project with site preparation set to begin next month.

Water supply to the Circular Head townships will not be affected during construction.

Once complete, the dam will not only guarantee supply into the future, but also improve its flood capacity from a one in 100-year annual exceedance probability flood event to a one in 10,000-year flood event.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of August 2021.