Cressbrook Dam: Mayor hits back at councillor’s $270 upgrade spray

A Toowoomba councillor has slammed previous councils for lacking the foresight to budget for the $270m Cressbrook Dam upgrades – but the mayor is having none of it.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald; Cressbrook Dam.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald has rebuked the comments of one of his councillors over the troubled Cressbrook Dam spillway upgrades, which are already over budget and threaten to derail the organisation’s financial sustainability.

Mr McDonald said he “completely disagreed” with colleague Tim McMahon’s belief previous councils had lacked foresight to not only set money aside for the $270m upgrades but also start them sooner.

Mr McMahon’s outburst came during the councillors’ decision to vote to release millions of litres of water out of Cressbrook Dam, due to the water level being too high to safely start work on the upgrade project.

The former Toowoomba City Council was made aware of required upgrades to Cressbrook as early as 2003, with the TRC seeking a 10-year extension in 2015.

The project must be completed by late next year and no guarantees have been made from either the state or federal governments to provide financial support as yet.

“I’ve been around this table since 2020 and this was given to us in 2022 as a looming disaster, (and) it’s been on our books since 2003?” Mr McMahon said.

“From 2016 to 2022 (the dam was) well under 70 per cent for six years in a row.

Councillor Tim McMahon. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“We are making a decision now because people lack foresight, and I can’t reconcile that in my brain, I really struggle with the task at hand.”

Mr McDonald, who has been on the TRC since 2012, argued all council had to balance the priorities of the day.

He also said the original standards the council was presented with to upgrade were even more extensive than for the current upgrade.

“I don’t feel that’s fair, I completely disagree with it,” Mr McDonald said.

“The standard had the spillway going out to 60m wide, meaning (it would be measured for) a risk of one in 3.2m year failure.

“You cast your minds back to 2004 and the council of the day having to make a decision on that when, as we are today, you’ve got residents screaming out for road maintenance, for mowing of parks, all the things that are relevant to their day-to-day operations.

“A one-in-3.2 million year event compared to a pothole in the street or a park that’s overgrown or a water pipe that’s breaking – I know which one I’d prefer council to work on.

“Is the council making the right the decision? I believe at the time, council has always made the right decision, with the best interests of the public in mind, and we’re doing that again now.”