Tweed Shire headed towards a water security crisis as debate over Clarrie Hall Dam extension heats up

TWEED Shire is in a race against time as the region faces a looming water crisis. The Mayor now wants to review a decision made three years ago that would have averted any mess.

Clarrie Hall Dam at capacity.

TWEED Shire is in a race against time to fix a water crisis brought on by booming population and the threat of global warming.

But Mayor Katie Milne now wants to review a decision made three years ago that would have averted any mess.

She wants to explore sustainable water options before council fully commits to its 2015 decision to spend $70 million on doubling the capacity of the Clarrie Hall Dam.

Cr Milne confirmed a separate review was underway.

Tweed Mayor Katie Milne. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“Council has supported the planning and land acquisition stages to prepare for the raising of the Carrie Hall Dam wall if it is needed to cater to population growth and climate change impacts,” Cr Milne said.

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“In the interim though we will be undertaking a review to consider if there are any further sustainable water supply or demand management options available to either avoid or defer the raising of the wall, including consideration of recycled water.”

Work at Clarrie Hill would boost the dam’s capacity to 30,000 mega litres, or to a tenth the size of the Gold Coast’s Hinze Dam - 310,000 mega litres.

Cr Warren Polglase.

It comes as the population for the Tweed is set to exceed 100,000 in four years with more than 15,000 lots of residential land in the pipeline.

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It coincides with Urban Water Services NSW studies suggesting yields of freshwater would fall from 15,000 mega litres to 11,250 mega litres by 2030, based on a 1C rise in global temperatures.

An overflowing Clarrie Hall Dam.

Veteran councillor Warren Polglase said the Clarrie Hall project was vital for growth.

“Water is essential for growth – no water, no growth – those that want a town to be stagnant just cut the water and the town will die,” Cr Polglase said.

A Seqwater spokesman confirmed the organisation was in talks with Tweed Shire Council about opening up a pipeline between the Gold Coast and the Tweed Shire.

Work to widen and extend the Clarrie Hall Dam spillway in 2013.

But he said a number of key issues needed to be considered, including ensuring water supplies were secure and any deal was a benefit to southeast Queensland.

Cr Polglase said dams were crucial to the future of the shire and suggested Byrrill Creek should be dammed before 2050.

“We have quite a strong element of people in the Tweed who are against change. Tweed has become quite an expensive place to buy into.

“We need to promote young people to come here for the community as well.

“Once we finish Clarrie Hall there will be genuine direction towards getting Byrrill Creek up and running.”

However, Cr Milne said Byrrill Creek was not on the agenda.

“The NSW government prohibited this option due to its outstanding and irreplaceable environmental significance and its world class aboriginal cultural heritage values.”