$28m water upgrade

Scheme to improve access for irrigators

A $28 million upgrade of the Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme is designed to help give farmers access to more water for irrigating crops.

The expansion, announced yesterday, will involve three new balancing storages, which manage water volume downstream from Tinaroo Dam allowing farmers to access water more quickly and SunWater to better manage water volumes.

The balancing storages will have a combined capacity of 305 megalitres, 25 automated irrigation channel gates and the conversion of a 4.5km gravity-fed pipeline into a modern pressurised system.

Work on the scheme will comprise six sub-projects to improve operating efficiency and reduce water losses by up to 800ML.

SunWater will construct about 4.5km of pressurised pipeline, creating an extra three balancing storages with capacities of 200ML, 100ML and 5ML, as well as installing 25 automated gates in key reaches of the channel system.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, Queensland Senator Ian MacDonald and SunWater chief executive officer Nicole Hollows announced the funding at Mareeba yesterday.

Ms Hollows said the investment would boost the local economy.

Mr McCormack said the project would generate a further $20 million of agriculture productivity in the region.

“This is going to create 75 additional jobs,” he said.

“This is a great investment and I know that the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund (NWIDF) is a really important.

“When you invest in water infrastructure you invest in farmers. This is going to make sure that every drop of water is counted, stored and utilised and that is so important when it comes to water.”

Ms Hollows said additional water would be put on the market and it would be tradeable.

“It will be up to customers on who purchases the water allocations,” she said.

“They will come on to the market as we finish the construction project.”

The total project cost is $28 million. SunWater will invest $16.4 million to supplement NWIDF funding commitment of $11.6 million.

The Mareeba Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme was established in 1958, after completion of the Tinaroo Falls Dam, to provide water to the Barron Gorge power station.

Today the Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme supports more than 1000 irrigation, industrial and urban customers with a total of 204,424ML in water entitlements.

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