$21 Million spillway upgrade to create jobs for Far North Qld

The Bligh Government is investing $21 Million to upgrade the spillway of the Tinaroo Falls Dam in Far North Queensland, to better manage flood waters during an extreme rainfall event.

The project is part of an ongoing dam safety upgrade program being conducted by SunWater, in response to revised industry standards for dam safety.

Water Minister Craig Wallace said that following approval by the Dam Safety Regulator, early works are scheduled to commence at the end of the wet season, with the project expected to generate up to 30 jobs for the region.

"The commencement of this upgrade project is a win-win for the local community," Mr Wallace said.

"Not only will this project ensure the spillway infrastructure meets recent changes in dam safety guidelines, it will also provide a jobs boost for local workers during these tough economic times.

"The Bligh Government is continuing to roll-out infrastructure projects across North Queensland, to steer the region's economy through the global economic crisis.

"We are committed to keeping the state moving forward by investing in and progressing necessary projects and securing jobs for Queenslanders."

Member for Cook, Jason O’Brien welcomed the jobs boost in Far North Queensland.

“This project will help keep our community moving forward during tough economic times,” Mr O’Brien said.

“I’m pleased to see workers in Far North Queensland will benefit from this major infrastructure project.”

Mr Wallace said new dam safety regulations were established by the dam safety regulator (NRW) in 2007 following a revision of the method for the estimation of extreme rainfall by the Bureau of Meteorology.

"While the probability of an extreme rainfall event such as this occurring is very low, the bureau considers rainfall of this nature as theoretically possible," Mr Wallace said.

“As a responsible dam owner, SunWater has responded by assessing all its water storages to ensure they would be capable of handling these types of rainfall events.

“Three dam safety spillway upgrades have now been successfully completed under this program, at Fred Haigh Dam near Gin Gin, Bjelke-Petersen Dam near Murgon and Borumba Dam near Imbil. Tinaroo Falls is next.”

Mr Wallace said that while Tinaroo Falls Dam was already extremely safe, an upgrade would enable the dam to better manage potential excess water in the future.

"While an event such as this is highly unlikely, the Bligh Government is taking a pro-active approach to ensure dams can safely handle floods where extreme rainfall is identified as a possibility.”

Sunwater CEO Peter Boettcher said construction crews will endeavour to minimise disruption during the upgrade works at the popular recreation area.

“The community will still be able to access the recreation facilities at the dam and restaurant will not be affected,” Mr Boettcher said.

“As a safety precaution, access to the dam wall area will be closed from March 2009 until mid 2010 and the car park on the left hand side of the main dam wall (looking downstream) will be closed.”

Project Features:

·Work on site establishment will commence in mid March 2009 and the project is expected to be completed by mid 2010.

·The main dam wall will be reinforced through the insertion of steel cable anchors within the wall itself and the addition of a concrete protection slab along the base of the downstream side of the dam wall.

·The height of the saddle dam on Tinaroo Falls Dam Road will be increased by 30cm and filter zones, designed to minimise any damage caused by seepage, will be placed on the downstream face.

·At certain points during the construction, traffic flow along sections of Tinaroo Falls Dam Road (adjacent to the main dam wall and on top of the saddle dam) and Danbulla Road may be limited due to construction works.

·Other than minor traffic disruptions and the car park closure, access to boat ramps and other dam amenities will not be affected.

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

·Water supply will not be disrupted during the project.

Media Contact: Minister’s office – 3896 3689