Emu Swap Dam project delays could run Stanthorpe dry yet again says MP

A community largely dominated by growers and producers, the Granite Belt remains at high risk of facing another drought just four years on from the previous 2019 water shortage nightmare.

In 2019 Stanthorpe and its surrounding communitiesfaced a water shortage nightmarethat would haunt them for almost a year.

The long-awaited Emu Swamp Dam project has clung to sweat on the communities’ brows as the years pass by with no guaranteed water security for the region in sight.

At the Queensland Parliamentary sittings last year on February 22, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk advised member for Southern Downs MP James Lister that he would be “getting his dam”.

The project was again raised a month later during the March 26 sittings, where Ms Palaszczuk advised Mr Lister the state government had fast tracked $6m of the promised $13.6m towards getting the project to construction phase.

James Lister MP, Queensland Parliament Question Time, Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

Originally estimated at a total cost of $84m in 2019, the project has since seen two additional design proposals by different engineering companies.

A Granite Belt Water Limited spokesperson said the community was fed up with the state government’s inability to fully commit to the project.

The lobbyist group recently sent open letters addressing community concerns about the project and its future to both Water Minister Glenn Butcher and Ms Palaszczuk.

“In 2021 we advised the (state) government that the total cost of the project as it was designed, to provide water for Stanthorpe and for irrigation throughout the Granite Belt was going to cost approximately $240m,” the spokesperson said.

“That was different to the detailed business case which suggested it was going to cost $84m, but once again the dam presented in the business case was different to the one presented to the government in 2021.

“(This was) because of processes the government put in place that wanted a different type of dam, now subsequently in 2023 the government’s processors have decided they want another different type of dam and the price just keeps going up.”

The original construction of the dam in the 2019 business case outlined the structure would be built using a clay core rock facing dam.

The 2019 business case Emu Swamp Dam plans. The thin blue line indicates where the outline of the dam will be.

The Granite Belt Water spokesperson said because of government fears of the construction risks of the original plan, a recommendation for concrete spillways and earth shoulders was considered more appropriate.

“(Since then) the government processors now have a total concrete dam on a total different alignment across the river in place,” they said.

“From a community perspective, they just see a project that’s trying to provide water for the town, for the industry and horticulture’s price just keep going up to the point where it may make the project uneconomical to build.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has overlooked the proponents of the Granite Belt's major water infrastructure project, Emu Swamp Dam.

The Stanthorpe community will have the opportunity to participate in the public Southern Downs Regional Water Assessment facilitated by the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water later this year.

Once public consultation has concluded, the spokesperson said the final approval lies solely in the hands of the Palaszczuk government.

“It’s quite sad from the Stanthorpe community perspective that the government won’t make a decision on the security of water for both the town of Stanthorpe, but also for a food bowl that produces fruit and vegetables in the summer months,” the spokesperson said.

“The longer the government takes to make a decision, the closer the water shortage will be for Stanthorpe and the Granite Belt.”

When questioned as to the state government’s commitment to the project, Mr Butcher said the Palaszczuk labor government was committed to projects that stack up economically and environmentally.

“We owe it to Queenslanders to make sure our investment in water infrastructure delivers the best possible outcomes,” he said.

“Until the outcomes are of the regional water assessment are known, project approvals and other useful assets are being preserved.

“By working with the community on the regional water assessment, we will be better placed to make decisions about what infrastructure and non-infrastructure investments will best support water security and economic growth in the region.”

Mr Butcher said the regional water assessment would be released to the Stanthorpe community for public consultation before the end of the year.

The assessment will additionally work to determine non-infrastructure options such as a region wide recycled water scheme for agricultural and industrial users, improved access to unallocated water and innovative solutions to reduce on-farm evaporation.

Area mapping of the newly founded state government Regional Water Assessment for the Southern and Darling Downs.

Originally published as Emu Swap Dam project delays could run Stanthorpe dry yet again says MP