Toowoomba council signs tender with Seymour Whyte, SMEC for $270m Cressbrook Dam safety upgrade

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald says rate rises and delays to major community projects could be on the cards if the council can’t get help to cover a $270m dam upgrade project.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald has not ruled out hiking rates and delaying key projects like the Charlton sports precinct and the Railway Parklands if the council cannot source external support for the $270m safety upgrades to Cressbrook Dam.

Mr McDonald and his council colleagues also revealed major contractor Seymour Whyte Constructions and SMEC Australia has won the lucrative tender to design and build the improvements — required to be substantially finished by October 2025.

But the question of how the mandated project is paid for remained the elephant in the room at the council chambers on Tuesday, with the mayor still trying to negotiate support or subsidies from both the state and federal governments.

At the contract signing between the Toowoomba Regional Council, Seymour Whyte and SMEC Australia for the Cressbrook Dam safety upgrade project are (from left) Seymour Whyte COO Steve Lambert, mayor Geoff McDonald and SMEC acting chief executive Kate Drews.

The upgrades, which are to be carried out mostly by local subcontractors and suppliers as part of the contract, will widen the dam spillway to increase flood resilience and protect landholders downstream in the Somerset region.

Crucially, the improvements do not increase the capacity of Cressbrook.

The council redirected $21m to start the project at September’s budget review, leaving $249m left to allocate to its next two capital works programs.

For context, the most recent capital budget for the entire region was $201m.

With no external funding sources secured as yet, Mr McDonald said he couldn’t promise rates wouldn’t increase to pay for the largest single infrastructure project in the council’s history.

He also indicated the delay of projects like the Toowoomba regional sports park at Charlton and the SEQ City Deal-attached Railway Parklands was likely.

Mayor Geoff McDonald at the contract signing between the Toowoomba Regional Council, Seymour Whyte and SMEC Australia for the Cressbrook Dam safety upgrade project.

“For us, it’s about financial sustainability, and that means a project of this nature could mean some projects, if we don’t get external funding, are deferred down the track,” Mr McDonald said.

“If we look at the $270m cost, it’s got to be done in three financial years, we’ve put in $21m this year, it leaves a fair chunk in the next two years.

“We have a variety of ways that we create our budget, one of which is to increase our rates and then there’s fees and charges, as well as revenue from dividends such as our increase in interest and importantly, around grants and subsidies from state and federal government.

“If (state or federal governments) come through, the pressure on our ratepayers will be reduced, but I couldn’t say to you today what impact or if there will be an impact on ratepayers.”

Mr McDonald also wouldn’t rule out the council selling any or all of its three dams in the future, calling the current arrangement between the three levels of government “unfair”.

“There is no doubt that local governments across the country are under immense pressure to deliver key infrastructure projects,” he said.

“It’s unfair, and state and federal governments need to have a rethink of how they fund key infrastructure projects and even trunk infrastructure projects.

“We are one of only a very few that actually own our dams, in southeast Queensland they’re owned by the state government.

“(On the sale of dams), there’s no doubt that everything should be on the table.”

At the contract signing between the Toowoomba Regional Council, Seymour Whyte and SMEC Australia for the Cressbrook Dam safety upgrade project is Seymour Whyte COO Steve Lambert.

Seymour Whyte chief operating officer Steve Lambert said potentially hundreds of people would be working on the project, with locals to enjoy a slice of the work.

“We plan to get boots on the ground early in 2024, and we’re looking at getting large numbers of local participants,” he said. “We’ve been here before in Toowoomba, and we’re able to leverage off those supply chain network connections.

“It’s an exciting council, they’ve got big plans, and I can’t believe how big the growth is in this region.”