The proposed Dunoon Dam is a twentieth-century ‘solution’ to a twenty-first-century problem. Undoubtedly, a dam would benefit someone – just not the community, Aboriginal heritage, the ecosystem, or already struggling wildlife.
There are simpler, more cost-effective solutions to our water supply challenges – demand reduction being the easiest. We currently water our gardens, wash our clothes, dirty dishes, and flush good drinking water, down the toilet.
Rous County Council (RCC) could spend $220 million of our money, plus the usual cost blowout, on a huge and destructive dam. Or they could significantly increase the existing subsidy to instal tanks and greywater systems making it affordable for everyone.
This would provide far greater water security in our region and benefit the local small-business economy. Think of all the tank, pump, and greywater system suppliers and plumbers that would benefit from it.
Dams put our water resources into the hands of government or private industry, rather than keeping them in the hands of individuals and community. Our whole planet is in trouble because of a twentieth-century megadevelopment mindset – we need to stop. It is time to do things differently.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
