New basin in Charlton
The latest in council’s flood plans
TOOWOOMBA Regional Council, along with members from both state and federal government, unveiled the latest in storm-water infrastructure yesterday.
The $4.6 million Charlton North Detention Basin was officially opened to act as a flood mitigation project for the Toowoomba Enterprise Hub.
Toowoomba Regional Council deputy mayor Cr Carol Taylor said the water would come from the catchment and would be let go in a controlled manner.
“The water will be released in a controlled manner, protecting Kingsthorpe and further areas and taking the pressure off the flow in the area,” Cr Taylor said.
The basin located on Nass Rd covers 95,000 sq m which has been designed to stop and catch flood water that would cut off the main road to the northern area of the hub.
Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Cr Paul Antonio said the project was about managing peak periods of intense rain and flooding.
“This is a part of our understanding of flooding and flood mitigation,” Cr Antonio said.
Cr Taylor said the detention basin had been carefully planned.
“It has also been planned to be a green space and environmental hub for our community to enjoy in the middle of an enterprise area,” Cr Taylor said.
The project was jointly funded by $1.8 million from the council and $2.78 million grant from the Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Resilience Program.
The basin was designed with an over-topping storage capacity of 119ML.
Queensland local government minister Stirling Hinchcliffe said the basin was great example of three levels of government working together.
Federal member for Groom Dr John McVeigh said the basin was part of long-term planning.
“It is ironic in the middle of a drought that we are talking about flood mitigation facilities but it is planning that we need to do,” Dr McVeigh said.