Water vital for North’s prosperity

NORTH Queensland is blessed with remarkable natural resources.

Major players behind some of the region’s major water projects reminded us of this fact when Townsville Enterprise convened a webinar this week.

Called North Queensland’s Water and Agricultural Opportunities, the webinar heard from people leading investigations into the Urannah Dam and Hells Gates Dam proposals, while its convener, Townsville Enterprise investment director Wayde Chiesa, asked some pressing questions about how these projects would all work out.

Water, as we all know, is critical to the wellbeing of people, to the wonderful environments it sustains and to the success of any of our future endeavours.

Without it, we cannot survive or prosper.

As Australia looks to recover from the debilitating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments are looking for projects to provide the next generation of jobs and wealth.

North Queensland has them in spades.

As the webinar heard, we have a unique opportunity now to get things done.

The huge Burdekin water catchment covering some 140,000sqkm of land in Townsville’s hinterland includes the sites of the Urannah and Hells Gates proposals as well as the Burdekin Falls Dam, which is overdue for upgrading and expansion against the risks posed by more severe storms from a changing climate.

Combined with all these proposals is the potential for big hydro-electric projects that can provide the sustainable back-up energy we desperately need to support the intermittent power provided by the emerging solar and wind farms.

One of the key themes to emerge from the webinar was the need for a strategic, overarching view on how best to develop these water and energy resources.

Another was the need for all the players in these projects to collaborate on the technical data that can support sustainable development.

We need a state government that is willing to step up and lead in this vital endeavour.