Cairns water security: $215m Mulgrave River plan explained
A do-or-die Cairns water security push has been thrust upon the city with surprising ferocity as the countdown to crisis drips towards zero. JOIN THE CONVERSATION
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A DO-OR-DIE Cairns water security push has been thrust upon the city with surprising ferocity as the countdown to crisis drips towards zero.
It must be our most critical advocacy priority, according to Cairns Regional Council, or else a time will rapidly arrive when we lack the water we need to function as a city.
The plan seems simple enough – collect flowing water from the Mulgrave River at Gordonvale, run it through a new treatment plant at Draper Rd and pump it across the region.
However, it will not come cheap and time is quickly running out.
The council has estimated a $215m cost and says construction must start by 2024 to avoid potential water crises from 2027.
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It wants the state and federal governments to chip in the required funding but, failing that, the bill will be passed on to the city in reduced services and higher residential and commercial rates.
Why now?
Politicians from all levels of government appear to be on board in principle but Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch summed up a major concern.
“I’m totally supportive – it’s got to be done,” he said.
“But from a federal perspective, this really should have been raised five years ago.
“It’s been raised five minutes before we really need it.
“That’s the problem.”
Late notice or not, the project has to happen – and the state and federal governments have plenty of form funding big water projects in other cities.
Mayor Bob Manning said water security was the subject of many proposals by previous Cairns councils going back to the 1980s, none of which came to fruition.
Much of this council’s focus had previously been on Nullinga Dam, which is going nowhere fast after a highly-criticised business case said the cost would be astronomical.
Focus has since shifted to the Mulgrave River – a solution that would not require Cairns to take water from Tinaroo Dam and could secure the supply for the next 30 years.
“Paying for infrastructure ahead of when it is actually required means you are spending community funds before you really need to – that is not prudent financial or capital management,” Cr Manning said.
“Based on existing supply capacity within the Cairns Water Supply Scheme and future population growth projections, Cairns will be at risk of drinking water shortfall by the middle of the 2020s.
“We determined the project in 2015 and have been steadily working towards it.
“In the last year we have stepped up our advocacy for funding support.”
It’s all in the sell
Despite crying foul over last-minute notice, Mr Entsch believed federal money could and should be forthcoming if the council played its cards right.
But there was a catch – the federal government is not strictly supposed to fund urban water supply, even though there are examples of it doing so.
“That’s not to say there isn’t a role we can play,” Mr Entsch said.
“We’ve got a lot of money in our federal water infrastructure bucket, but the money is for agricultural water.
“There is an opportunity for (the council) to say, look, urban water is always going to take priority over agricultural water.
“If they can’t get this project up out of the Mulgrave River, then it’s easy, they can go and take water from the Barron.
“The infrastructure is already there to do that.
“The problem with the Barron is that Tinaroo is already fully allocated for agriculture.
“We need to be smart on how we do this and look at it through the prism of this being a way to avoid using that agriculture water.”
A spokesman for Queensland Water Minister Glenn Butcher did not rule out the State Government coming to the table with funding.
“Council is currently undertaking a detailed business case on Stage 1 of the Cairns Water Security Project and the Government will consider that business case once it is completed,” he said.
“The minister met with Mayor Manning in June and preliminary discussions on the project were part of that meeting.
“Both the minister and the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water will continue to engage with council on the project.”
City’s next move
Cr Manning appears well aware of the need to frame the proposal as a way to avoid coming over the top of farmers, whose water allocations are already stretched thin.
“In terms of when funding is needed, most of the cost will occur over the two years from 1 July 2024, so we are not asking for the federal or state governments to give us the money tomorrow,” he said.
“What we are asking is that the state and federal governments give a commitment now that the money will be made available as and when we need it.
“Council remains conscious of the need to avoid conflict with water needed for agriculture production and expansion on the Atherton Tablelands.
“By not drawing water from the Barron River at this stage, we are not compromising the growth of this agricultural sector which is critically important to our or region’s future prosperity.”
Originally published as Cairns water security: $215m Mulgrave River plan explained
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