MP pair in same boat on dam fill
THEY have different methods in mind but both Bob Katter and Warren Entsch want to use a link from the ever-flowing Johnstone River to top up Tinaroo Dam.
The area in question falls under Mr Katter’s Kennedy electorate and his desire for a quick, no-nonsense water diversion project is no secret.
Speaking from Mareeba yesterday, he said droughtstricken farmers needed Tinaroo’s water stocks to be replenished as a matter of urgency.
He proposes a 3.5km diversion channel from the North Johnstone to Tinaroo – a “pissant, tiny little thing with a tiny little weir”.
“If the Wet comes late this year, we are really in big trouble,” he said.
“We’re not talking about a dam scheme or anything – you could do it with four bulldozers in a matter of weeks.
“It’s a simple project and if the government slows us down, let it be at their peril.”
Mr Katter raised the issue at a recent public meeting in Mareeba, but it was poorly attended and he did not feel the message was adequately heard. Another, better-publicised meeting will be organised over the coming weeks.
“We’re in a very, very bad situation,” he said.
“A lot of our farmers up here are in trees, and if you lose trees, it’s five or six years before you get production back.”
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch wants a study into the possibility of placing a pipeline to catch overflow from the river during floods.
“The Johnstone catchment has a much higher rainfall and this has been talked about for a long time,” he said.
“Once the water gets to a certain flood level, you divert it through a pipeline to top up Tinaroo. It would also act as flood mitigation for Innisfail and along the Johnstone River down the coast.”
Mr Katter was unenthusiastic about feasibility studies.
“They’ve spent $550 million looking into water projects and we haven’t had a single water project in 30 years,” he said.
Tinaroo was at 43.6 per cent capacity yesterday.
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EAST Innisfail residents should prepare for power outages today and tomorrow as Ergon Energy conducts maintenance work to the electricity network.
Today, between 8.30am and 2pm, houses and businesses in Ryan, Mary, Phyllis, Rowney and Cahill Streets and Webb Cres will be affected. Mourilyan Rd, Ryan, Breen, Scheu, Bunda, Heavey and Clancy streets will have no power between 8.30am and 2.30pm tomorrow.
For more information go to www.ergon.com.au