Dunoon dam debate continues, despite twice being rejected

Despite being rejected twice, the Dunoon Dam was back for discussion at the Lismore Council meeting.

A 3D version of what a possible Dunoon Dam would look like is available from the Rous County Council website.

The Dunoon Dam has twice been rejected by Rous County Council as an option to secure future water supply for the Northern Rivers, so why does it remain a topic of heated debate?

Lismore City Council heard a motion at its meeting this week, requesting the council support the dam being put back on the table for consideration.

The motion was not successful, with five of eight councillors voting against it, but there remains a push from some sectors to see the dam reinstated to the Future Water Project 2060.

In December, the water authority for the region, Rous County Council, voted to exclude the Dunoon Dam as an option, electing to change the focus of the plan to other options - such as upgrading Marom Creek Water Treatment Plant and the use of new underground water from the Alstonville area for the first 10 years, to develop technology to allow for direct and indirect potable reuse of water.

A 3D model of the proposed Dunoon dam, part of a digital map created by Rous County Council.

Councillors who voted to remove the dam as an option cited Aboriginal heritage and environmental factors in the reasons for its removal.

But since the decision was made in December, a recission motion has been lodged - and lost, and three councils have heard motions calling for the dam to be reinstated.

Two councillors each from the constituent councils make up the Rous County Council - Keith Williams (chair) and Sharon Cadwallader from Ballina, Simon Richardson and Basil Cameron from Byron, Darlene Cook and Vanessa Ekins from Lismore, and Sharon Humphrys and Robert Mustow from Richmond Valley Council.

Cr Cadwallader, Cr Mustow and Cr Humphrys voted to keep the Dunoon Dam as an option.

In January, the majority of Ballina Shire councillors voted to support further investigation into the proposed dam and sent the recommendation to Rous County Council.

It stated the Ballina council had major concerns about a secure water strategy for the region and asked Rous County Council to continue investigating the dam as an option.

The statement read: "The groundwater on the Alstonville Plateau has many demands on it and should not be relied upon as a major source of supply".

In February, Richmond Valley Council voted unanimously to write to Rous outlining their concerns about the removal of the dam as an option in the Future Water Project 2060.

Mayor Mustow said there was no doubt the water project would help future proof the region's drinking water supplies, and support increased resilience in the face of changing climate conditions.

"That is why we are asking Rous to look at all aspects of water security to ensure the levels of service our community expects can be maintained, including studies on the viability of groundwater and the Dunoon Dam," Cr Mustow said.

He said Richmond Valley Council was undertaking its own investigations to improve water security for the Casino water supply.

During the Lismore council meeting, Cr Nancy Casson said Dunoon Dam had not been fully investigated as an option, and claimed political interference as the reason it was discarded.

Mayor Vanessa Ekins suggested that those outside Rous council may not be privy to sensitive reports on the heritage of the site, but assured Lismore councillors that due diligence had been done and investigations had been completed before a decision was made.

 

Stages of Rous County Council's preferred water plan - water sources, treatments, and activities.

 

A revised draft Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Strategy went on public exhibition on April 1, for eight weeks, closing May 28.

Community group, Water Northern Rivers, has campaigned strongly to oppose a second dam at Dunoon and continues to fight it being returned to the water plan.

The group cites the destruction of rare rainforest and Widjabul Wiabal cultural heritage as reasons to oppose a dam, and supports the new water strategy that excludes a dam.

It says drought resilience only comes from a mix of diverse water sources.

Another community group, Our Future Northern Rivers, disagrees, voicing its concern over the scrapping of the dam in favour of other options it does not support, such as tapping groundwater and desalination.

The group opposes the revised water strategy, excluding a dam, and hoped to send "a clear message to Rous County Council and the NSW State Government that considering the remaining options without also considering the Dunoon Dam is unacceptable".
Save Alstonville Aquifer group also opposes Rous County Council's plan to harvest groundwater rather than build a new dam at Dunoon.

The group says Rous took the Dunoon Dam off the table "in haste" and is concerned about plans to "extract large volumes of water from the Alstonville aquifer.

The group says the decision to axe the dam "flies in the face technical advice over several years" and claims Rous bent to political pressure and a "vocal minority".

It is concerned about the impact of extracting water from the aquifer on wetlands and remnant rainforest on the Alstonville Plateau.