There's Gold in Them There Hills
This article is an extract from the March 2008 Tas-Regions.
Water is 'like gold' and the Meander Dam is 'the jewel in
the crown' of Tasmanian water schemes: those overseeing the completion of the
$35 million dam used metaphors to describe it that left no doubt about how they
regarded its value.
The Minister for Primary
Industries and Water, David Llewellyn, was jubilant when he opened the main
bypass valve of the dam late last year, releasing water from the new Huntsmans
Lake into the Meander River for the first time.
"As the drought bites even
harder, water is like gold," he said. "With the decline of the Murray-Darling
Basin, we can see the water from Huntsmans Lake greatly contributing to the
agricultural production capacity of the nation."
The Meander Dam Project
Manager Garry Evans agreed. He called water the 'currency of the 21st century',
and believes that secure irrigation water will underwrite the further economic
development of Tasmania as the effects of climate change become more obvious.
"When you consider that many
mainland farmers only have access to 10-15% of their original water allocation,
the new Meander Dam irrigation district has a golden opportunity to fill that
void," Mr Evans said.
With 12% of total average
run-off for the continent of Australia, and twice the surface water resources
of the Murray-Darling River system, Tasmania is well-placed to capitalise on
the rising value of water. Yet less than 1% of Tasmanian run-off is used for
consumptive purposes, meaning that projects such as the Meander Dam are vital
to the harnessing of this enormous resource.
The Rivers and Water Supply
Commission Chairperson, Scott Ashton-Jones, labelled the Meander Dam and water
scheme among the best in Australia, and the 'jewel in the crown' of the
Tasmanian water scheme network. The largest such scheme in the State, it will
provide town and irrigation water for the Meander Valley, and a feasibility
study has been commissioned into piping the water to numerous outlying areas.
The
benefits of irrigation are great, with irrigated land providing the vast
majority of the State's agricultural production, and 60% of extracted water in
Tasmania used for it.
If water is gold, then the
Meander Dam is a golden goose.
The hydrography of the
catchment area and hydrology of the dam means that the average annual rainfall
of the district - 1700mm - would yield the dam catchment 190,000 megalitres a
year. This is enough water to fill the immense new Huntsman Lake three to four
times over. Before the completion of the dam, almost all of this liquid gold
would have run into Bass Strait.
"Now the dam will provide
security and greater availability of this vital resource for established
farmers," Mr Llewellyn said. "It will be the foundation for new agricultural
industries, giving farmers certainty of supply and confidence to invest.
Tasmanian farmers are the most water-efficient in the land: they achieve twice
the return per ML of water used than the national average. This will boost
their production capability even further."
