Southern residents prepare to step up fight to stop the 1200 megalitre dam
A GROUP of Southern residents has vowed to take legal action if revised plans for a massive dam are approved by Onkaparinga Council.
DAM busters are on the march at Aldinga.
They have threatened to take legal action if revised plans to build a massive dam are approved by Onkaparinga Council.
Under the new plans, it could hold enough treated sewerage water to fill 480 Olympic swimming pools.
A revised plan for Bowering Dam, on the corner of Iverene and Old Coach roads, will be submitted to the council.
This follows community consultation meetings held last week by the developers, McLaren Vale Community Sustainability Company.
David Moore, who runs the Stop Wastewater Storage Dams in Aldinga Facebook page, said that a revised proposal presented at the community meeting had done little to ease resident concerns about health, tourism and the environment.
“The momentum against this turkey nest (above ground) dam has accumulated and the community are feeling very hostile,” Mr Moore said last week.
“This amended proposal is basically the same but with 50 metres taken off the corner facing Old Coach and Iverene roads.
“The project is massive – one corner isn’t going to make a difference.
“There’s still residents who open their back door and they’ve got a 10 to 12-metre wall outside their back fence.
“We are a non-political group of mums, dads and property owners but we will take this to the Land and Environment Court if it is approved.”
Around 300 residents expressed concerns about the dam in a survey headed by Federal Kingston MP Amanda Rishworth on the initial proposal.
Ms Rishworth said the primary concern was a lack of consultation with residents on location and design.
“The community must be properly consulted about the proposal,” Ms Rishworth said last week.
“Local residents deserve a voice in discussions about major infrastructure projects.”
The MP has written to the council, which will need to approve the revised plan, as well to as state and federal governments.
The dam will include a wall 13 metres high, pump station building, carpark and a 1.8-metre chain mesh security fence.
The McLaren Vale Community Sustainability Company did not respond to request for comment.