Proposed Traveston dam Site. Credit: patrickmccully/ flickr

By Rich Bowden

A report commissioned by the Mary River Council of Mayors in Queensland, Australia has found the contentious Traveston Crossing dam to be both unnecessary and undesirable.

The review, carried out by the University of Technology Sydney‘s (UTS) Institute for Sustainable Futures, looked extensively at proposed water supply projects in Queensland and matched them with current and predicted demand, says a UTS news release.

ISF Director Professor Stuart White said the Traveston dam failed to meet the criteria on additional water supply for drought relief and on cost.

“The Traveston Crossing scheme performs poorly on both these counts,” Professor White said. “It will not provide any additional water in the current drought and at $3 per kilolitre is an expensive option in terms of investment required for water returned.”

Instead the Institute promotes an alternative water supply strategy for the Queensland Government and recommended that water saving measures and supply regulation be introduced to ensure the water resources of South East Queensland.

The ISF suggests the government: “…expand its demand management initiatives and adopt additional programs outlined in the review that have a unit cost less than half that of the Traveston Crossing scheme,” said the statement.

Surprisingly, the review found that additional supplies of water are not needed until approximately 2030 though recommends planning for severe droughts using techniques such as desalination and water recycling.

The ISF’s alternative strategies for ensuring water supply in SE Queensland are “… significantly less expensive than the Traveston Crossing scheme, have fewer negative environmental and social impacts and are less greenhouse intensive,” says the report.

Tags: isf, southeast queensland, stuart white, traveston dam, uts