Funding goes to assess ways to protect Tweed’s water supply
04 September 2018
Council welcomes NSW Government support
Tweed Shire Council has welcomed $100,000 in funding from the NSW Government’s $1 billion Safe and Secure Water Program to investigate options to prevent salt water contamination of the Tweed’s water supply.
There is a continuing risk that Bray Park Weir, which supplies raw water for the Tweed Shire, may be overtopped by salt water during high tide and sea level anomaly events. The risk is forecast to increase with climate change.
A combination of high tides plus an unforeseen sea level anomaly caused Bray Park Weir to be overtopped in August last year. The salt water ingress caused the raw water provided to the Bray Park Water Treatment Plant to be contaminated and as a result, the contaminated salt water went into the Tweed drinking water supply.
Research undertaken by Water Research Laboratory, a unit of the University of NSW, forecasts such overtopping events will be more common in the future.
To mitigate the risk of salt water contamination of the Tweed water supply, Council has established the Bray Park Weir Tidal Protection Project Reference Group – a group of 10 community members and councillors Katie Milne (Mayor) and Pryce Allsop – to investigate the best possible solutions to address this problem while avoiding or minimising impacts on the Tweed River and surrounding landholders.
The $100,000 grant, announced by Member for Lismore Thomas George when he visited the weir last week to discuss the issue with Council water engineers, will be used to engage an independent consultant to assess proposed solutions to the problem as identified by the PRG.
The PRG is currently working to establish proposed solutions and the assessment criteria to be used by the independent consultant.
The independent consultant will report back to the PRG, which will then recommend a preferred solution or suite of solutions on behalf of the community for determination by Council.
Cr Milne thanked Mr George for his assistance in securing the funding.
“It’s important to find a solution that most suits the community without impacting the river as the risk of salt water contamination of the Tweed water supply will worsen over time with the impact of climate change and subsequent increases in sea levels and storm surges,” Cr Milne said.
“This funding is important to ensure a secure potable water supply for the long term.”
The Safe and Secure Water Program is a $1 billion regional infrastructure co-funding program established in 2017 under the NSW Government’s Restart NSW Fund.
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Photo 1(JPG, 112KB)
Caption: Bray Park Weir.
Photo 2(JPG, 122KB)
Caption: Nationals candidate for Lismore, Austin Curtin, Cr Pryce Allsop, Member for Lismore, Thomas George and General Manager Troy Green learn about the situation at the Bray Park Weir from Council's Coordinator Strategy and Business Management, Water and Wastewater Rob Siebert.