Mullumbimby will get its water in the future from the Rous regional supply, rather than the local Lavertys Gap Weir it has been using for the past 85 years, under a decision made by Byron councillors last week.
But with Council elections just weeks away, and no irreversible action on the issue planned for months, it is possible the decision could be overturned by the next group of councillors.
The decision to shift from the Lavertys Gap Weir to the Rous supply was made at last week’s Council meeting following years of debate over the issue.
Councillors were ultimately faced with four options: keep using Lavertys Gap with no additional water source, build an off-stream reservoir to supplement this source, permanently move to the Rous regional supply (which currently supplies the rest of the shire), or find a new ground water source to supplement Lavertys Gap.
Reflecting the bitter division among councillors over the issue, the final vote was deadlocked at 4–4, with Mayor Michael Lyon using his casting vote to seal the deal for option 3 – a permanent move to the Rous supply at Rocky Creek Dam.
Tie-breaking vote
The vote tie breaker was necessitated by the absence of Cr Sama Balson.
On the mayor’s side of the debate were councillors Mark Swivel (Labor), Asren Pugh (Labor) and Alan Hunter (Independent).
Drawing on the advice of Council staff and the findings of Council’s independent consultant, Hydrosphere, they argued that shifting to the Rous supply was the best move economically, environmentally, and socially.
This argument held that, with Mullumbimby’s population growing rapidly, the ageing local weir and water treatment system would not be able to meet demand, particularly with climate-change-induced droughts such as the one experienced in 2019 a very real concern.
While building a local, off-site water storage facility to supplement supply might address the demand issue, it was argued that this option would cost far more than shifting to Rous, and have a more significant environmental impact.
‘Look, I understand the romance of a local water supply, but it’s time to let go,’ Cr Lyon said in his final speech following hours of debate in the Council chamber.
‘Lavertys Gap will always be there. If it stacks up financially in the future, we can always go there. But it doesn’t stack up right now.’
But those on the other side of the debate strongly disagreed.
Backed by the vast majority of respondents to a local survey on the issue, councillors Sarah Ndiaye (Greens, Deputy Mayor), Duncan Dey (Greens), Cate Coorey (Independent) and Peter Westheimer (Independent) argued that Lavertys Gap should be retained, and significant funds invested now to make it viable into the future.
Financials contested
They contested the financial figures demonstrating that switching to the regional supply was the most viable option, pointing out that pursuing this course means that Council (and by extension its ratepayers) will have to buy water from Rous County Council for generations to come rather than having its own supply.
‘Yes, keeping our little local independent and resilient water supply needs upfront capital expenditure,’ Cr Dey said.
‘But after that it’s quite likely that it will provide water for another 80 years.’
Overwhelming resident support for local supply
Cr Dey also asserted that there was virtually no support for switching to the Rous supply from Mullumbimby residents, with just five per cent of 411 respondents to a recent survey in favour of the move.
Of the 225 respondents living in Mullumbimby, just five households said they wanted to move to the Rous supply.
‘Imagine… you’ve asked hundreds of Mullum locals their opinion and just a handful said they wanted to connect to Rous,’ Cr Dey said.
‘They all said “stick with Lavertys” but we are now considering doing what just five of them wanted. Come on, where’s the social licence here?’
Cr Dey supported an alternative motion put forward by Cr Ndiaye which proposed deferring the matter for two years.
But with the original motion being passed this alternative did not come up for debate or a vote.
One measure which all councillors agreed on was addressing the issue of the 13 customers on Wilsons Creek Rd, who were going to lose their connection to the mains if Council switched to the Rous supply.
The motion that was ultimately passed included a specific clause stating that piped water supply will continue to these residents.
However, it may be that the entire motion and the preceding hours of debate will prove moot.
Last week’s meeting heard that, while the decision is significant, a new course can still be taken by a newly-elected group of councillors if they are willing to do so.
‘I want to make it really clear to the community that, following the election, if there’s enough support, you can change course if you wish,’ Cr Lyon said in his closing speech. ‘But for me it’s brave to make the decision today. We’ve been talking about this for three years and the evidence is now clear. It’s time to make a decision.’
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