THE NAMBUCCA Valley has been exceedingly dry for the best part of two months, but thanks to an inspired decision by council, the district will be ‘drought-proofed’ on the back of the construction of a dam at Bowraville.
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The shire council resolved to proceed with the construction of an off river storage that will secure a water supply for the valley – even during extended dry periods.
The new storage will have a capacity of 4500ML (megalitres) and a surface area of around 55 hectares when full.
The storage embankment will be constructed of earth fill with a clay core that will rise some 20m above the natural ground level at its highest point.
The storage will cater for population growth, ensure an environmental flow is retained in the river during periods of drought, and allow council to have more control over the supply of water.
Water will be pumped to the storage to keep it full when flows in the Nambucca River are other than low. Pumping will cease when flows in the river are low, at which time water will be drawn from the storage and distributed to the supply system.
The construction contract was awarded in August in two separate packages. ‘Package A’ is for the storage proper, including the embankment, inlet/outlet tower, spillway, valve house and access road. ‘Package B’ is for two additional bores, collection pipework, a raw water collection tank, pump station and water transfer pipeline.
Package A was awarded to Haslin Constructions Pty Ltd and Package B to Ledonne Constructions Pty Ltd. Work is expected to commence on site later this month.
Council has secured funding of $14.8 million from the State Government through the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Scheme, and an additional $10 million from the Federal Government.
