Hydro Tasmania dam builders grilled at Commission of Inquiry

Hydro Tasmania dam builders grilled at inquiry into issues with the beleaguered Paradise Dam in Queensland.

The empty spots at the Paradise Dam Caravan Park on Boxing day. Picture: Erica Murree.

HYDRO Tasmania is standing by its 106-year dam-building reputation as it gets grilled as part of a commission of inquiry into the cause of structural and stability issues at Queensland’s Paradise Dam.

Hydro Tasmania was part of a partnership of four companies that won the tender to design and build the dam, near Bundaberg.

The partnership traded under the name Burnett Dam Alliance, and the dam was completed in 2005.

Technical reports have confirmed the dam’s issues relate to the use of rolled compacted concrete to construct the dam wall. The inquiry is testing if the dam would be stable if there is a repeat of flood conditions seen in 2013 after Cyclone Oswald.

Hydro Tasmania representatives gave evidence at the inquiry yesterday.

Dam designer Richard Herweynen said large-scale sheer testing should have been done at the dam.

“I support testing to be done now to establish if the dam is stable,” he told the inquiry.

The electricity generator told the Mercury the safety and integrity of its hydropower assets was “paramount to our core values”.

WANT TO BE HEARD: Farmers and workers rally for Paradise Dam outside the Bundaberg Courthouse.

“Like everyone else, we are keen to understand the facts around the Paradise Dam matter and we are committed to assisting the commission of inquiry in any way we can, and offered to do so voluntarily, including providing evidence wherever required,” a spokesman said.

“We stand by our work and the integrity of our expertise and design process.”

The commission of inquiry will determine if, and to what extent, the governance, processes and systems involved in the design, construction or commissioning of the Paradise Dam contributed to structural or stability issues. It is expected to release its findings in April.

The Paradise Dam lies about 80km south west of Bundaberg, and its primary purpose is to supply the Bundaberg Irrigation Scheme, which in turn provides water used to produce sugar, fresh market tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.

Senior Counsel Jonathan Horton QC told the inquiry that Paradise Dam was one of the first rolled compacted concrete dams built in Australia.

The Meander Dam, in Tasmania, is of a similar design and was completed not long after the Paradise Dam.

“You will hear from those who have seen quality control reports that suggest problems were experienced in the laying of the RCC,” Mr Horton said.

“We are investigating what was done in response to those expressed problems, including by way of remediation, and what it meant for overall dam stability.”