SA Water’s $300m dam upgrade should include flood prevention
Onkaparinga Council says flood prevention should form part of a $300 million upgrade to the Mount Bold Dam after it contributed to significant flooding in 2016.
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Plans for an up to $300 million upgrade of Mount Bold Dam are being developed – but Onkaparinga Council wants better flood protection included to protect locals during extreme weather.
SA Water has started planning for an upgrade of the dam – located on the Onkaparinga River – and the council is requesting the State Government step up and fund additional flood mitigation after homes in Old Noarlunga and Port Noarlunga were flooded during the one-in-50-year storm in September 2016.
Representatives from SA Water gave elected members an overview of the proposed upgrade at a committee meeting last week.
They told councillors the design of the dam could be altered to improve flood protection. However, it would likely cost about $30 million.
This money would have to come from either the council or the State Government as it falls outside SA Water’s responsibilities.
As a result, Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson has written a letter to Environment Minister David Speirs requesting the State Government fund flood protection work as part of the project.
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Ms Thompson said residents in Old Noarlunga and Port Noarlunga had suffered financial hardship and had their insurance premiums increased as a result of the 2016 flood.
“We do not believe the State Government should spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a major upgrade to its Mount Bold infrastructure without taking the opportunity to address the known role of the dam in the downstream flooding of Old Noarlunga,” Ms Thompson wrote.
“The dam upgrade provides an ideal opportunity to incorporate flood mitigation without compromising the reservoir’s water storage capability.”
The State Government has been contacted for comment.
