Posted on October 13, 2016
SUNWATER said dredging the Chinchilla Weir would be a costly and time consuming exercise that would disrupt the supply of water.
Many people have argued that SunWater, manager of the Chinchilla Weir, should have dredged the weir while it was dry to boost capacity.
A spokesperson for SunWater acknowledged that while Chinchilla Weir was a popular recreational destination, its primary function is to supply water to the 142 local irrigation, industrial and urban customers that depend on water from the weir.
“The process of dredging is likely to be extremely costly and time consuming, and it would disrupt water supply to local irrigators, businesses and households,” the spokesperson said.
“Unless a third party is willing to fund the dredging, SunWater would be required to recover costs from water entitlement holders and we are hesitant to impose this on our customers.
“Any proposal to dredge the weir would need to consider the environmental impacts on both the weir and downstream ecosystems, and would require environmental approvals from government departments including the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and Department of Natural Resources and Mines.”
The Chinchilla Weir is currently at 103% capacity and began spilling over into the Condamine River on Monday afternoon.
Source: Chinchilla News
