Rockhampton Regional Council lobbying state government to foot $3.1 million bill for Mount Morgan water trucking

Thousands of dollars are being spent each day trucking water to a Central Queensland community that’s dam has almost run dry. Now, tenders have opened for a business case for a permanent water security solution. Full details here.

With Mount Morgan’s main water supply, the No. 7 Dam, too dry to draw from, 20 truckloads of water are being transported to the community each day at an eye-watering cost to ratepayers.

In a bid to find a permanent solution to the historic town’s water woes, tenders have opened for consultants to work on a business case for water supply security.

Around 500 kL is trucked each day at a cost of about $9,000 per day. Since March 23, Rockhampton Regional Council has spent $1.5 million trucking water to the community.

Councillor and water portfolio holder Donna Kirkland said the water trucking would continue for the foreseeable future, as the dam was sitting at about five per cent capacity.

“Unfortunately, recent rainfall has not made its way to the dam to improve that situation,” she said.

Council released tenders on September 10 for the Mount Morgan water supply security preliminary evaluation and business case.

The tender is due to close on October 6 and will be awarded later that month.

The tender documents state the business case must be completed by April 30, 2022, to be in line with future capital budget processes and time frames.

Price has the highest weighting for the tender, with 30 per cent, while there is a 23 per cent weighting for project experience and 12 per cent for local preference.

The tender has been split into two projects and is to “undertake a robust assessment and evaluation process of all possible options to provide long term water security for the Mount Morgan community”.

Councillor Donna Kirkland.

The preliminary evaluation will include design, modelling and documents and propose at least two preferred option for a business case.

The business case stage is to “undertake a more detailed comparative analysis of the two short-listed project options and delivery models” and to recommend the option which will most likely service the needs and provide the best value for money for council and the Mount Morgan community.

The business case will be the key document to lobby to government for funding.

“Increasing the long term water supply security for Mount Morgan is an essential part of ensuring that this important community can remain sustainable during periods of extended drought that lead to water supply failures or the Mount Morgan Water Supply Scheme,” the tender document states.

“Increasing water supply security also provides the ability for Mount Morgan to grow and develop to maximise its potential to once again be a leading small town and destination of choice in regional Queensland.”

The tender documents list the identified water supply security options to date.

PREFERRED OPTIONS:

Drinking water pipeline: Construction of drinking water supply infrastructure to connect Mount Morgan to the Rockhampton Water Supply Scheme.

Raw water pipeline: Construction of raw water supply infrastructure from the Stanwell Water Supply Dam to the No. 7 Dam to augment the raw water supply.

OTHER OPTIONS:

Nine Mile Creek Dam: Construction of a new water storage dam on Nine Mile Creek which is located in the Fletcher Creek catchment.

Augmentation of No. 7 Dam: Increasing the storage capacity of No. 7 Dam via modifications to the current dam wall as part of the review of the spillway capacity compliance.

Augmentation of Fletcher Creek Weir: Excavation of the creek bed and/or upgrading of the weir structure to increase storage capacity.

“We are also open if the consultant should suggest other options... If they have something that is better, we have open ears to that as well,” Ms Kirkland said.

The No. 7 Dam is located on the upper reaches of the Dee River catchment and serves as the raw water supply at the nearby treatment plant, supplying drinking water to the township.

The Mount Morgan dam has fallen increasingly lower since 2017 when the area went through an extended period of drought.

When the dam reached eight per cent and the water quality was low, tanker deliveries of drinking water from Gracemere to Mount Morgan began on March 23, 2021.

The small township remains on strict water restrictions.

It is estimated the cost to truck water to the town will reach $3.1 million by the end of the financial year.

“But we are happy to do that to ensure our community of Mount Morgan have lovely water,” Ms Kirkland.

“We are still waiting to hear from state to hear if we will get some compensation for that.”

Water Minister Glenn Butcher.

Ms Kirkland said she would love to see a “full compensation” to council.

“There has been a precedent set with other councils where they have reimbursed them for the cost of trucking water previously, so we would like to see them extend that to our region as well,” she said.

“Our budget has lots of other things we could allocate money to but that being said, Mount Morgan are part of the Rockhampton region community and we are not going to see them go without water.”

Gladstone MP and Water Minister Glenn Butcher said the state government was looking into the issue.

“While urban water supply is the responsibility of local councils, our government is working with council to explore solutions to water supply issues for Mount Morgan,” he said.

“I am advised that a request for financial assistance from Rockhampton Regional Council for ongoing water carting to Mt Morgan is being assessed by Queensland Treasury Corporation.”

As many pieces of the project are reliant on the government, Ms Kirkland was not able to provide clarity on a timeline for a water security solution.

“These processes can’t be measured in time, we want them to do things posthaste.”