Kilkivan, Widgee residents raise alarm over Borumba Dam pumped hydro plans

Farmers and business owners say plans to run high voltage power lines from a proposed pumped hydro plant through their backyards and “prime cattle grazing country” will destroy two Queensland towns.

Kilkivan shop owner Katy McCallum is among a growing number of regional Gympie residents fighting against potential plans to run high voltage transmission lines through their areas as part of the state government’s proposed Borumd Dam pumped hydro project.

Plans to potentially run high voltage transmission wires from a multibillion-dollar Borumba Dam pumped hydro plant to a regional substation are being met with a growing backlash for residents in the firing lines.

Kilkivan and Widgee residents fear proposed routes risk destroying agricultural land and ruining property values in the regions should the lines be built as part of the State Government’s renewable energy plan for the popular Mary Valley water source.

Powerlink has unveiled several possible routes for where the transmission lines could run through to connect to the Woolooga substation and is currently running multiple public meetings in potentially impacted towns.

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The western most route will take them near Kilkivan, 50k east of Gympie, while another option will take them near – or even through – Widgee.

A third option would route the power lines out behind Gympie’s Southside, which has long been marked as the region’s growth corridor.

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Powerlink has revealed multiple proposed routes the transmission lines could run to connect Borumba Dam with the Woolooga substation.

More than 200 comments from Gympie residents have already been left on Powerlink’s interactive map.

These include 75 from residents of the Widgee area, 51 from Southside residents, and 31 from Kilkivan and Cinnabar residents.

A Facebook page launched by Widgee residents to campaign against the powerlines has attracted almost 200 members in the four days it has been live.

Kilkivan General Store owner Katy McCallum said the proposed western route, which would run through the Blacksnake Ranges, risked destroying the habitat of rare and endangered animals and plants, ruin “prime cattle grazing country”, and force the resumption of homes.

“They will resume prime rural land … devalue everyone’s property,” Mrs McCallum said.

“Nearly every single small property owner … moved here and are off the grid for a reason.

“We’re going to have to look at the lines to keep (city residents) with electricity.”

The state government’s multibillion-dollar plan would transform the popular Borumba Dam in the Mary valley into a pumped hydro renewable energy plant.

Widgee shop owner Peter Alexander shared Mrs McCallum’s concerns around the impact transmission lines on lifestyle and property lines near the town.

It had the potential to set back a town which in the past two years had been thriving with subdivisions and improved land values.

“People moved here to get away from the highly populated areas and have a good lifestyle,” Mr Alexander said.

The pair’s comments are echoed by dozens left on Powerlink page, which the company has tried to address ahead of a fortnight of public meetings.

Powerlink has left several replies saying “no decisions have been made on the location of a new line or towers”, that “a range of factors including location of homes and populated areas” and running the transmission lines underground is being considered “where feasible”.

“The corridors presented are wide enough, about 4km, so we can look at a number of alternative options for a transmission line route,” it has said in several responses.

More than 200 comments have been left about the proposed transmission line routes by Gympie region residents on Powerlink’s interactive map.

“When considering a corridor, a number of factors including proximity to residential homes, important agricultural land activities and location of existing infrastructure along the corridor are taken into consideration.”

However, consultation over the proposed routes was a point of contention too.

Mr Alexander said he “never heard anything about (the proposed routes) until a week ago”.

“Powerlink have got to be a bit more forthcoming about what their plans are,” Mr Alexander said.

While Widgee was a scheduled stop on Powerlink’s itinerary, Mrs McCallum said Kilkivan was being skipped.

“That rings alarm bells,” Mrs McCallum said.

She said the two towns were 30 minutes apart and different concerns about how the lines would impact their regions.

“I don’t see how a Widgee meeting will cover Kilkivan,” Mrs McCallum said