Haughton channel challenges
IN recent articles we described the Haughton Main Channel and WFTAG’s third tour of the BurdekinHaughton sector.
This channel is a major piece of infrastructure delivering water from the Tom Fenwick pump station on the Burdekin River near Clare, to the Haughton Balancing Storage and Pump Station near the Haughton River.
Owned and operated by Sunwater, the 34km channel has successfully supplied lower Burdekin irrigators for over 30 years. It is also an essential part of Townsville’s pumped Burdekin water, supplying up to 130ML a day via the original Haughton pipeline to Ross Dam.
This article incorporates four photos from the tour of the infrastructure and identifies challenges for increasing supply from the channel for Townsville. There are video clips and many more photos on our site. Additional images will be shared in a subsequent article to show comparative sizes and other key infrastructure features.
As part of the new Stage 1 pipeline from the Haughton Storage and Pump Station to Ross Dam, the channel will need an initial upgrade to provide up to 365ML a day to Townsville. The estimated cost to Townsville City Council is $ 20 million.
The proposed work, to be completed by SunWater, includes desilting and weed management to improve flow capacity in open earth channel sections.
It will be particularly challenging to preserve channel clay lining integrity during this operation.
Weed management, conventionally using pesticides, will be undertaken during critical channel shut down.
Automation of channel flow regulators will improve operation, but will this mitigate the potential impacts of increased flow regime changes on the nationally listed Haughton Storage wetlands? WFTAG asks:
• Should Townsville’s future urban supply continue to rely so heavily on water infrastructure operated and maintained principally for irrigators?
• Will the proposed channel upgrade be adequate for the future or will the council be required to pay for subsequent upgrades?
WFTAG strongly advocates the pipeline extension for stage 2 to proceed without delay from Clare thereby bypassing the channel, negating upgrades and potential impact on the wetlands.
If delayed, construction and depreciation costs will also soar over time.