Sunwater changes rules: Paradise Dam, Queensland Bundaberg water users may top up with temporary transfer from Kolan

SunWater was now able to allow the Temporary Transfer of water from the Kolan Subscheme to the Burnett Subscheme subject to any operational constraints of the channel system. SunWater was advised by the Department of Natural Resources and Water, that Stage One of the Critical Water Supply Arrangements (CWSA) for the Bundaberg WSS were updated. SunWater Corporate Strategy Manager Tom Vanderbyl said under the updated arrangements, new Burnett Water High Priority and Medium Priority water allocations committed up to and including June 30, 2007 were to be included in the water sharing rules.

Consultations on Chaffrey Dam enlargement have taken six months: time for a decision, says NSW local MP

Independent Federal MP Tony Windsor catalogued a list of contacts made with Federal legislators by local politicians to advance the enlargement of the Chaffey Dam, after Environment and Water Resources Minister Malcolm Turnbull professed ignorance of the matter, in the Federal Parliament on 9 August 2007.

Resource conflict in NSW; Federal contribution sought for Chaffey Dam enlargement proposal

Conflict was emerging over the existence of 500 million tonnes of coal and vast quantities of groundwater on the Liverpool plains, said Independent MP Tony Windsor in the Federal Parliament on 13 August 2007.

Qld, 8 September: Heavy rains during the past week added 5400 megalitres to the combined storages of Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams

According to The Courier Mail, (08/09/2007, p.7) quoting SEQWater operations manager Rob Drury, a further month’s supplies were added to Brisbane’s dams through scattered rainfall over the past week with last Thursday’s inflows alone adding 5400 megalitres into the combined storages of Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams.

Combined storage capacity at 20.56pc: A further 5000 megalitres was expected to flow into Somerset in the next two to three days from heavy rain in the far north of the catchment and the Sunshine Coast. The combined capacity of all three dams was 20.56 per cent on 7 September as showers continued in catchments.

Somerset outshines: Somerset Dam had done best, with good rain at the Maleny end of the Sunshine Coast catchment. In the 24 hours to 9am on 7 September, the highest rainfall in Queensland was 129mm at Noosa Heads.

The Courier Mail, 8/9/2007, p. 7

Victoria Latrobe Valley power stations water buyers for a second year after from Blue Rock irrigators after low inflows, sabotaged allocations

The Latrobe Valley power stations supply 85 per cent of Victoria’s electricity and use about 140 billion litres of water a year. They receive an annual allocation from Blue Rock dam under an agreement with the State Government. But the water crisis has hit Victoria’s power sector hard over the past financial year. Two major Latrobe generators – Yallourn and Loy Yang B- bought emergency supplies over the internet from Blue Rock irrigators because low inflows sabotaged their allocations. In June, The Age revealed that the power stations were investigating alternatives. A State Government-commissioned study explored options including on-site desalination plants and dry cooling systems, reported The Age, (10/9/2007), p. 4.

SA Premier commits 20 per cent of the South Australian budget to desal plant off Gulf St Vincent, about 1000km north of the city, and a raised dam wall

Mike Rann on 11 September committed his Government to the biggest infrastructure project in South Australia’s history – a $2.5 billion water supply upgrade for Adelaide – but immediately faced criticism for “making policy on the run”. Rann pledged to build a desalination plant and double the volume of Adelaide’s stored water, but could not say when the projects would be delivered. Within five years, Adelaide could have a desalination plant on the coast of Gulf St Vincent, about 1000km north of the city, and a raised dam wall for the Mount Bold reservoir, southeast of the capital. The plant would provide about a quarter of Adelaide’s current water supplies, reported The Australian, (12/9/2007), p. 9.

Disaster ahead: In a bald assessment of Adelaide’s predicament – the city is currently sourcing 90 per cent of its water from dwindling Murray River supplies – Rann said the projects were “the only real choices” left. But it faced many future hurdles, with final cost, engineering and environmental components of the plan yet to be determined. Rann said a “final decision” would be made by Cabinet in November, after receipt of an expert’s report by a government working group. The preliminary estimate of a $2.5 billion price tag nominated by Rann represents more than 20 per cent of the South Australian budget If adopted the plan would almost double Adelaide’s available water supply, assuming adequate water falls in the Adelaide Hills catchment.