Burnside councillors urged to ‘start rain dancing’ as water harvesting project runs out of cash

Burnside councillors need to “start rain dancing”, as its struggling water-harvesting project prepares for the possibility of “a series of dry years”.

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Burnside councillors need to “start rain dancing”, as its struggling water-harvesting project prepares for the possibility of “a series of dry years”.

ERA Water — a subsidiary of Burnside, Norwood, Payneham & St Peters and Walkerville councils — needs to borrow $2.3 million, the money also vital just to “sustain operations” between May and June this year.

A recent report by accountants BRM Holditch reveals the “level of current funding available to ERA Water is expected to be exhausted in approximately May 2019”.

The scheme — designed to make all three councils self-reliant to irrigate local reserves and parks — has produced vastly less water this financial year than first predicted.

However, further borrowings could push its total debt out to $15.3 million

ERA Water’s general manager Robin English said the project “didn’t quite meet expectations”.

“The best thing we can do is start rain dancing. It (2018) is the worst year we could have had a dry year,” Mr English told last week’s Burnside Council meeting.

“We need to lift our injection capacity. We will run out of money in May … so it’s getting quite urgent. We’re half a million dollars away (from running out of cash).”

Mr English said ERA Water could struggle to record a surplus over the next 20 years with just four bores, making it a “loss-making project”.

A fifth bore was needed to deliver a projected surplus by 2022/23.

ERA Water chairman Bryan Jenkins said the project needed up to $2.3 million just in case there was “a sequence of dry years”.

Cr Harvey Jones was sceptical of the project.

“This is third time you’ve come back to council to borrow money,” Cr Jones said.

However, Mr English said the ERA board had fielded inquiries from Port Adelaide Enfield Council and a Marden soccer club for water.

ERA Water will seek approval from the three councils to borrow the additional money.

Burnside was yet to decide if it would support the move.