Waratah residents in last ditch bid to save dam from being drained

A Tasmanian community is trying desperately to save a dam popular with wildlife, locals and the growing number of tourists who visit the town with a waterfall in its main street. LATEST >>

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A GROUP of Waratah residents fighting to save their dam will not admit defeat and have lodged a last-ditch appeal to stop the much-valued natural asset being drained.

In a letter to community members, DPIPWE’s Agriculture and Water Division says TasWater’s application for a permit to decommission the dam had been approved.

No works can start until the 14-day appeal period is over, however.

The Waratah dam is popular with both residents and wildlife and campaigners say losing it will dent Waratah’s current reinvention as a tourism town.

Waratah resident Christopher Hawkins. Picture Chris Kidd

The West Coast mining town of Waratah.

But TasWater wants to rid itself of the asset.

For two years it tried to find a buyer for the dam which was built to provide water to Mt Bischoff tin mine in the 1800s.

In his letter of appeal lodged on Wednesday morning, Sue and Christopher Hawkins said there had been a lack of consultation with the community on the decommissioning process.

“The community is completely in the dark as to how the process will affect the community water supply and the effect it will have on the water quality in the town dams and the loss of water for firefighting purposes,” the letter said.

The couple said the draining of the dam would see a loss of amenity for fishing groups, bushwalkers and recreational boaters.

“Please explain what the plan is for the diverse range of birds, fauna and flora that have made

this area home for over 140 years. For example what will become of the platypus population as they cannot be relocated to the adjacent lakes for fear of population crash due to overpopulation and what will happen to the large population of Loch Leven Trout or the devil population.”

There are also concerns the draining of the dam would impact Waratah’s growing tourism appeal.

“The town of Waratah over the last few years has been reinventing itself as a tourism town with new businesses starting up to cater for this change, increased numbers in the caravan park, bringing documentary and adventure film makers to our town to showcase its potential with some of us investing a lot of time, money and resources to promote our piece of paradise.

“The Waratah/Wynyard Council, All local businesses, the local tourism group, and all the town is supportive of the retention of this historic and iconic waterway.”

“What about compensation for our loss and the proponents who wished to use the reservoir to create employment in our town, with one who only found out they had been unsuccessful by reading the local newspaper.”

TasWater has previously said the draining of the dam will not impact the flowing of the natural waterfall in the town’s main street.