Farmers demand no more delays to dam plan

Sugarcane growers in the Childers region are calling for urgent and serious work to determine how Paradise Dam can be fixed now – without its wall being reduced in height.

CANEGROWERS Isis Chairman Mark Mammino says he acknowledges and welcomes the recent report by engineer Dr Paul Rizzo and his view that the dam, while in a distressed state, is highly unlikely to experience a catastrophic failure.

“I am reassured that Dr Rizzo, one of the world’s top experts in this kind of dam construction, believes the Paradise can be fixed at its current height and at a reasonable cost,” Mr Mammino said.

“Time is of the essence – agriculture needs confidence to move forward with investment and on farm work to secure food for Australians in the coming season

“We need a plan now on what is the best course of action to take.

“This planning should not wait until after the wall lowering essential work program is completed - that will add another six to twelve months to the process. 

“If the dam is in a distressed state now, then simply lowering its wall by 5m without any remediation work still leaves us with a dam sitting there in a distressed state, we don’t end up in a better position.

“We need the best option which protects the lives of downstream residents AND the livelihoods of irrigators who rely on this dam and contribute to the economy of our local community.

“I call on the Queensland Government and Sunwater to talk with Dr Rizzo, and other experts in the field, to determine the most cost-effective way of remediating the dam at its current height to meet current safety standards without impacting irrigators water security into the future.”