READER'S VIEW: Many changes since dam was first proposed
THE Fitzroy Gap Dam, first proposed in 1930 by visionary engineer John Bradfield, is constantly touted as Capricornia's saviour, supported by unsubstantiated figures about future local employment.
Sound familiar?
Advocates also declare "build it and development will follow".
The North Koreans have discovered the faulty logic of this proposition, with whole high-rise cities devoid of businesses or even inhabitants decades after construction.
However much money is spent on advertising, a few inconvenient truths remain.
The 2014 Australian Government Water Infrastructure Study considered all potential projects that may attract Commonwealth involvement into the foreseeable future.
The $9billion Gap dam didn't even rate a mention, so the State Government would be going it alone.
However, it is unlikely to be on the radar of any Queensland agency with expertise in water infrastructure for very good reasons:
- A pre-feasibility study, referred to in the last Queensland Community Cabinet meeting report, found The Gap dam could deliver no more water to customers, despite its huge volume, than the proposed Rookwood Weir, while likely to cost more than 10 times as much.
- It would inundate significant areas of the region's most productive farm land and much of the existing Eden Bann Weir pool, effectively rendering the weir redundant.
- Taking Eden Bann Weir offline for the likely 10 years of construction would seriously affect water supply to Stanwell Power Station, which is likely to impact on the cost of supplying electricity.
- While The Gap dam would be effective for flood mitigation (score 8/10), even the Queensland Flood Commission declares it unlikely to stack up in any cost/benefit analysis because of significant loss of upstream production, purchase of private land and relocation expenses (to say nothing of social costs to those affected).
To put The Gap dam proposal and the technology of Bradfield's time into context: 85 years ago, Jeeps, jet engines, spray cans and nylon hadn't even been invented.
Surveyors' tools have since gone from hessian ropes, chains and mechanical theodolites to 3D scanners and satellites.
A very different world indeed, with vastly different data sets from which to judge a project's viability or its plausibility.
This proposed mega-dam is 10,000 gigalitres or 20 Sydney Harbours.
With that much pie in the sky blocking out the sun, we can expect a mass extinction any day now, on a scale with the comet impact that did for the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
The specimen Fitzroyii gapdamus should be encased in glass and offered to Mount Morgan Museum for display beside their other fossils.
Julie Davies
Coowonga
