Hunter Water H250 Plan a Costly Mistake for Hunter Residents and the Environment
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:26
TEC Urban Campaigner Mr Leigh Martin said “Hunter Water is using guesswork to justify construction of a massive dam on the Williams River that is not needed now and is unlikely to be needed in the future. In doing so they have ignored major opportunities for water conservation, rainwater tank rollouts and recycling schemes. The result will be sharp increases in customers’ bills to pay for the dam and massive environmental damage to the Williams River”.
As part of its justification for building Tillegra Dam Hunter Water has reduced its estimate of the yield from current supplies from 90,000 megalitres per year to 67,500 megalitres per year. This calculation is based on highly questionable assumptions about future rainfall and conveniently ignores the fact many estimates predict an increase in rainfall in the Hunter under climate change.
“Despite the worst drought on record Hunter Water’s storages remain virtually full. With years of supply remaining there is ample time to get better picture of the effects of climate change on the region. Rather than present the facts objectively Hunter Water is simply trying to hoodwink the community into accepting a decision that is not justified,” Mr Martin said.
TEC has also condemned Hunter Water’s refusal to accept restrictions as a response to drought and adopt permanent water saving rules to prevent water wastage.
“Permanent water savings rules such as banning the hosing of driveways and paths and requiring the use of trigger nozzles on hoses have been successful and widely accepted in cities such as Melbourne and Adelaide and have recently been introduced in Sydney. These rules should be introduced in the Hunter to reduce demand for water with additional restrictions to be kept in reserve if a severe drought should occur”, Mr Martin said
TEC has called on Hunter Water to abandon its plans to build Tillegra Dam and focus on water conservation, rainwater tanks and recycling as a sustainable alternative.
“At present only 8% of households in the Lower Hunter have a rainwater tank and 14% of households have a water efficient front loading washing machine. Rather than opting for expensive and environmentally damaging engineering solutions Hunter Water should look to build an ‘invisible dam’ by increasing the uptake of rainwater tanks, water efficiency measures and recycling schemes,” Mr Martin said.
