COSTA'S DAM PLAN IS LEAKY-AS

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 10:03

Claims by NSW Water Minister Phil Costa that Tillegra Dam is crucial to drought security for the Hunter have been exposed as false and misleading, the Total Environment Centre (TEC) said today.

“Phil Costa is either displaying his embarrassing ignorance of water management in the Hunter, or deliberately using misleading arguments to justify Tillegra Dam,” said Leigh Martin, TEC Water Campaigner.

TEC has called for the Government to abandon Tillegra Dam and invest in sustainable water management options for the Hunter such as improved water conservation and recycling.

Yet Minister Costa recently told the NSW Parliament that the rapid decline in water storage levels that occurred in the 1979-1981 drought would recur without Tillegra Dam.

“It’s just wrong to compare Hunter Water’s supply situation in 1979-81 with the present day,” said Mr. Martin. “The water shortage occurred prior to the introduction of user pays water pricing in 1982, which reduced household water consumption by more than 30%. The upgrade of Grahamstown Reservoir in 2005 also increased storage capacity by 50%.

“As Water Minister, it behooves Phil Costa to show us he knows what he is talking about,” said Mr. Martin.

“Tillegra Dam has been totally discredited as an expensive and environmentally damaging white elephant. If the Government wishes to salvage any credibility on water management is should scrap the dam and focus on sustainable water management,” said Mr. Martin.