North Queensland Conservation Council

NQCC has previously raised concerns about the construction of Hells Gates Dam (in October 2016 and again in November 2019). 

Now, there have been renewed calls for construction of Hells Gates Dam, and post-COVID-19, this could well be included as a new "nation building project". As such, NQCC has conducted a review to examine its feasibility as well as environmental impact and presented this to MP for Herbert, Phillip Thompson. The review examined documents that represent three perspectives: proponents of the dam, water-security interests and environmental impact.

In terms of feasibility, the review found that the Burdekin Falls dam (with the improved Haughton pipeline) will be adequate for Townsville's projected water needs for the next 60 years. Additionally, economic returns are based on optimal crop production, yet still appear to be limited with low internal rates of return. As such, the dam cannot be justified on water security grounds, and with great difficulty in terms of economic returns.

Most importantly, the environmental impacts will be profound. As well as loss of habitat due to land-clearing and inundation, the dam will result in the river flow below the dam to the present Burdekin Falls Dam, a length of 270km (52% of the length of the Burdekin) to become permanently turbid, and - along with the Burdekin Falls Dam - will remove >30% of the river flow. This has the potential to affect nutrient supply to the reef and cause erosion to the narrow spit of land that is Cape Bowling Green. 

NQCC will continue to follow proposals for Hells Gates Dam construction and alert State and Federal parliaments of the potential environmental impacts and lack of economic feasibility. You can read our most recent updates on our blog. 

Read the full review here. 

There is no need for the Hells Gates Dam and it makes no sense! When Townsville faced a water crisis several years ago, all sorts of suggestions were made about the best way to secure a water supply for Townsville. The Hells Gates Dam was suggested by many as the way to guarantee water supply for Townsville, but we disagree.

This, the fourth post in our water security series, began as a response to the first of them, the Townsville Water Discussion Paper, and addresses an issue which none of the first three looked at. Parts 2 and 3 are here and here. This is a guest post by Malcolm Tattersall. Once again, views expressed are the author’s, not those of NQCC. 

When I read Gail Hamilton’s post six weeks ago I agreed with nearly all of it but noticed a gap which was potentially important, i.e. the impact of climate change on our water security: the ‘Regional Water Supply Security Assessment’ from the Department of Water and Energy Supply (2014) (pdf here), upon which she relied for her ‘current situation’ section, didn’t consider climate change effects at all.

That seemed quite odd to me since we know that climate change is with us already on a global level – that most of the hottest years on record have occurred this century, that desertification is a key driver of conflicts in the Middle East, and that sea level rise is drowning low-lying islands and threatening major cities around the world. Some of us have also been feeling, on a much more local and personal level, that Townsville has been having weaker Wet seasons and hotter summers than ever before, and I happened to know, because I looked at it recently, that Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) data backs up our feelings.

Another busy month at NQCC! November will be another eventful month, with Maree attending the Environment Roundtables with other Queensland enviro groups, NQCC hosting an intern, and our unmissable trivia night on the 19th – don’t forget to purchase your tickets!

In this issue: Townsville Port expansion – radioactive contamination at Ben Lomond – Adani ‘critical infrastructure’ – Hell’s Gate Dam forum wrap-up – fisheries reform – Marine Park review – Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – NQCC’s trivia night – EOI for 2017 postcard exhibition.

This is the third part in a four-part series that discusses issues about water in our region. Read part 1 here. Read part 2 here. Part four asks how climate change will affect our region’s water security. 

NQCC hosted a forum about the Hell’s Gate Dam feasibility study currently being conducted by Townsville Enterprise Ltd. NQCC was grateful to have the on-hand expertise of Patricia O’Callaghan (TEL CEO), David Lynch (principal economist for the study) and Jon Brodie (waterways expert). Here is what we were told about the dam and the study, plus questions that came from the audience.

This is the second part in a four-part series that discusses issues about water in our region. Read part 1 here. Part three is a summary report of information shared by Townsville Enterprise Ltd. about the Hell’s Gate Dam feasibility study at our forum that was held on 10 October. Part four asks how climate change will affect our region’s water security.

Guest post written by Vern Veitch. All views expressed are the author’s and not the official opinion of NQCC.

With Townsville in a drought and under Level 3 water restrictions, the public are asking a lot of questions. Water falls out of the sky so why does it cost so much? Why don’t we just build another dam? If the dams are on higher ground, then why does water have to be pumped?

Mainstream media in Townsville certainly muddies the waters by publishing half-truths and not publishing all the really important bits of information. Through a concerted media effort, the public has been led to believe that Hell’s Gate is the answer to endless and cheap water.

Guest post written by Gail Hamilton. Views expressed are the author’s and not the official opinion of NQCC.

This is the first part in a four-part series that discusses issues about water security in our region. Part two explores dam infrastructure options, and part three is a summary report of information shared by Townsville Enterprise Ltd. about the Hell’s Gate Dam feasibility study at our AGM and forum. Part four asks how climate change will affect our region’s water security.

Townsville has an excellent water supply system, with highly treated and very safe water sourced from the Ross, Paluma and Burdekin dams.

While the Ross is our main supply dam, it is highly variable, with a limited catchment and low rainfall.  The Paluma Dam is situated in the wet tropics and is much more reliable, but can only supply 30 ML per day.  The Burdekin Dam is a huge system, with over 1 000 000 ML per year of water allocations, some of which is not committed. Townsville has 120 000 ML of allocation from the Burdekin.[1]

CURRENT SITUATION

In 2014, the Department of Energy and Water Supply undertook an assessment of Townsville’s water security.