TasWater’s hunt for a new owner of Waratah Dam continues

FOR SALE: a dam in one of the prettiest little frontier towns in Tasmania.TasWater has opened a second Expression of Interest to find a new owner of the Waratah Dam which it says is surplus to requirements but the community says it needs.

FOR SALE: a dam in one of the prettiest little frontier towns in Tasmania.

TasWater has opened a second Expression of Interest to find a new owner of the Waratah Dam which it says is surplus to requirements but the community says it needs.

TasWater last year committed to providing the community and other stakeholders a second opportunity to take on the dam in recognition of the town’s strong feelings.

The second EOI process will close on April 10 and will be advertised on the TasWater website as well as Tasmania’s daily newspapers.

“A new dam owner would need to be able to carry out the required upgrade work as well as manage ongoing maintenance to ensure the dam is compliant,” TasWater said.

The company will provide about $1 million — the estimated cost of removing the dam wall — to a suitable organisation or body to assist with upgrade costs.

The Waratah community has been worried about the dam’s future for years telling the mercury in December, 2017 it feared draining the historic facility would impact on its famous main street waterfall, harm wildlife and deprive the town of a recreation area.

The dam, owned by TasWater, is not used for drinking water but for recreation such as swimming and kayaking.

It is also home to birds, platypus, freshwater crayfish and fish and is more than a century old.

If no buyer is found the dam will be drained and decommissioned.

Local Chris Hawkins spearheaded a campaign to save the dam saying the town needed more tourist attractions and draining the dam would put a dampener on progress.

“There are concerns if we have a dry summer it could really impact the waterfall,” Mr Hawkins said.

There would be no price ticket on the dam, as ownership would be transferred but total upgrade costs are estimated to be around $3 million.

TasWater no longer needs the dam for water or sewerage services and any new owner would need to demonstrate they could manage a dam of this size and nature.