Water corporation to exit East Coast dam bid

TASWATER looks set to pull out of a dam proposal for the state’s East Coast, a leaked internal document has revealed.

TASWATER looks set to pull out of a dam proposal for the state’s East Coast, a leaked internal document has revealed.

Internal briefing notes prepared for TasWater CEO Michael Brewster recommend the water corporation reject a proposal to purchase 200ML a year from a new $4.5 million dam near Triabunna being built by the Glamorgon Spring Bay Council.

The Tea Tree Rivulet Dam dam is aimed at providing fresh water to a Tassal fish farm proposal and a Solis golf course and housing development.

The fish farm is currently subject to an independent assessment by the Marine Farming Planning Review Panel which is looking into the adequacy of the environmental management of salmon farming at Okehampton Bay.

And the Solis development has struggled to get the Federal funding required to get it off the ground.

The leaked TasWater document raises a raft of issues about buying into the project including:

LONG term water needs for Orford and Triabunna;

CONCERNS that building the dam is not financially viable;

LOSS of drinking water source control;

INHERITING duty of care obligations; and

CONCERNS about future litigation because of a “flawed user-pays measurement methodology”.

Glamorgan Spring Bay Council Mayor Michael Kent said the project was not dependant on TasWater’s support.

Glamorgan Spring Bay Council Mayor Michael Kent. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“What we want to do is build a dam so that we have surety for people that want to purchase the water,” he said.

“We borrow the money, we sell the water to whoever wants.

“There is no cost to ratepayers, because you are selling the water.”

Asked what would happen if Solis and the Tassal fish farm did not go ahead, Mr Kent said: “You want to progress development.”

“There is always a risk that whoever you deal with may not be there in a decade’s time,” he said.

The dam is expected to be built by mid next year.

Originally published as Water corporation to exit East Coast dam bid