SIX-MONTH BORUMBA DAM SPILLWAY UPGRADE BEGINS

A hundred truck loads of concrete and more than 22 tonnes of steel will be used in a spillway upgrade of Borumba Dam occurring over the next six months, Water Minister Craig Wallace said today.

Mr Wallace said a $5.1 million upgrade was being done with funding provided by the Bligh Government.

When the upgrade is finished in December it will ensure the dam can safely manage even the most extreme rainfall event.

Water users will not bear the cost of the spillway upgrade as the project is fully funded by the dam owner.

“The Bligh Government is building for the future by ensuring Borumba Dam can withstand an extreme 1 in 100,000 year rainfall event,” Mr Wallace said.

Workers have been building a concrete parapet across the top of the dam wall and will start on the spillway itself over the next few weeks.

“Construction workers, many of whom are from local townships, have pulled out all stops on this upgrade to ensure work is finalised by the peak Christmas holiday period,” Mr Wallace said.

“Borumba Dam is a popular location and each year holidaymakers are responsible for a big cash injection into the local economy, so workers plan to be finished and off site by December,” he said.

Mr Wallace said the Borumba Dam spillway upgrade was the third carried out by SunWater, the other two being Fred Haigh and Bjelke-Petersen dams in the Burnett region.

“SunWater will carry out the entire upgrade at the dam until December but will be transferring its ownership of the dam to SEQ Water from July 1,” he said.

Project Features:

·Work is expected to be completed by December 2008.

·A 1.59 metre-high reinforced concrete wall will be constructed across the top of the existing dam wall.

·As a safety precaution, access to the dam wall area will be closed until December 2008.

·Access to picnic area, boat ramp and car park will not be affected during construction.

·The spillway capacity upgrade will not increase the storage capacity of the dam.

·Water supply will not be disrupted during the project.

Pictures are available upon request.

Media inquiries: Paul Childs, Craig Wallace’s office, on 0407 131 654.