Paradise Dam’s missing documents

The critical “construction report” of Paradise Dam was among documents discovered missing in a 2015 safety review.

Bree Grima at the Ben Anderson Weir. Picture: John Wilson

The critical “construction report” of Paradise Dam was among documents discovered missing in a 2015 safety review that has led authorities to order the ongoing release of 105,000 megalitres of water despite the surrounding region being drought declared.

Major design and construction defects were found in the foundations and spillway of the Paradise Dam during the secretive, two-part safety review undertaken after it sustained damage during the 2013 floods.

The dam, built by the Beattie government in a joint venture with a private consortium and opened in 2005, began releasing water in late September because of structural safety issues with its wall if there was another major flood.

It can also be revealed that the consortium’s lead builder, Walter Construction Group, was already facing a lawsuit over shoddy workmanship on another major Queensland project a year before it began building the dam.

The company went into administration just months before the dam was completed.

Authorities conducting the safety review of the dam after the 2013 flood could not find the consortium's construction report and warned there were “gaps in the geo­technical information available on the constructed dam foundations’’. But the Palaszczuk government and state-owned SunWater, which operates the 300,000ML dam, is refusing to publicly release details of the structural issues or safety review reports that led them to release the water, in a move that has angered the local community.

Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham on Friday again refused to release the reports or answer a number of questions about when the government was told of the risk of the dam wall failing in the event of a flood.

Last month, the Labor government also voted down a motion in parliament by state Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington for an inquiry into the dam.

A brief summary of part of the safety reviews, obtained at the weekend by The Australian, shows authorities were told in 2015 and 2016 that despite repairs on the dam after the flood, there were still major design problems and defects in the foundations and spillway. Core samples, taken in 2015, found “defects present within the foundation of the Paradise Dam,’’ and that the primary spillway design is “not able to maintain the flow turbulence inside the apron area — for most flood scenarios’’.

Last week, thousands of megalitres from Paradise Dam passed the last of the downstream weirs and began to pour into the tidal section of the Burnett River, and into the ocean.

Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers managing director Bree Grima said it was “shocking” to see water going to waste, particularly during a drought.

The dam’s stored water levels have been cut from 75 per cent of capacity to 42 per cent, which SunWater says can’t be raised again until repairs are finished in 2025, at the earliest. Ms Grima said the government and SunWater needed to release the reports and consult with farmers about slowing down the water releases.

“There has been a huge amount of money pumped into this region by local farmers and corporates because of the water security,’’ Ms Grima said. “People are distraught, they took out loans, invested with the confidence of having water and now it is being released into the ocean.’’