OUR SAY: We need more water storage

Investing in water storage means more opportunities

WATERING CANE: Industrial size sprinklers irrigate a cane farm on Goodwood Road.Photo: Max Fleet / NewsMail

WATER supply is one of the most critical issues facing the state and it’s no different here on the Fraser Coast.

Speaking with MSF Sugar chief executive Mike Barry and Maryborough and District Canegrowers chairman Jeff Atkinson, it’s clear that with more water, the possibilities are endless for the region.

Investing in water storage means more opportunities for sugar and every other industry and is key to economic development.

The impact of a dry season can be seen just looking at this year’s harvest, well down on last year.

With enough water and equipment to irrigate, there wouldn’t be these kinds of highs and lows.

With assurance for the industry, MSF Sugar could invest with confidence – Mr Barry already has a number of ideas for projects in the region, but it all hinges on water supply, the predictability of wet weather and when it will arrive.

In previous years, the Mary River has flooded, giving us an abundance of the very thing we need.

Instead of letting it simply wash out to sea, wouldn’t it be brilliant to store it, to ensure there is water when there isn’t a single cloud on the horizon?

This is an issue on which there can be no political divide.

I know, although the Federal Government has already provided funding for an off-stream water storage project at Glendorf near Maryborough.

I know Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders also has water on his mind and is committed to making the future bright.

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