Tweed Shire Council wants to link to the southeast Queensland water grid to boost supply of drinking water in the shire during times of drought.
The pipeline link will connect to the southern Gold Coast water grid, supplied at times by the controversial billion-dollar Tugun desalination plant which started operating nearly six years ago after a rocky start with rust and mechanical problems.
Councillors unanimously voted last week to seek around $10 million in funding from the NSW government to build the water link.
Council’s water manager Anthony Burnham said the link would see the Tweed connected to one of the most secure water supplies in Australia.
Mr Burnham said the Tweed tended to go into drought earlier than southeast Queensland.
He said that while the project would not do away with the need for future water supply augmentation, such as the raising of Clarrie Hall Dam or construction of Byrrill Creek Dam, it would help the shire meet short term water supply needs in the event of a severe drought.
‘The water supply link from southeast Queensland is the preferred drought contingency approach outlined in council’s drought management strategy,’ he said.
The project is expected to cost around $10 million and Mr Burnham said that while any funding received as part of the Restart NSW Water Security for Regions 2014-15 program would not cover the entire cost of the project, it would be ‘most welcome’.
‘There are four criteria against which council’s expression of Interest will be assessed: strategic alignment with state government objectives, capacity to improve economic growth and productivity, affordability and how the project will be implemented,’ he said.
Council managers are confident the grid project satisfies the criteria of the funding program.
Infrastructure NSW will assess council’s bid and shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a more detailed application.
Mr Burnham said the funding bid was made possible after the Tweed was included with 60 new local government areas in the $80 million program which aims to help safeguard communities against future drought conditions and stimulate economic activity.
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