Raising Clarrie Hall Dam

Head to the Environmental Impact Statement for raising Clarrie Hall Dam page for details on the EIS.

Friday 20 December 2019

At the end of the first week of level 2 water restrictions in the Tweed, Council consultants Eco Logical Australia began work to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed raising of Clarrie Hall Dam.

The raising of the dam wall is one of the major projects Council is undertaking to secure our water supply into the future.

Raising the wall will double the dam’s footprint, treble its capacity and provide security of supply to 2046.

The Eco Logical Australia team, led by Project Manager Robert Cawley and Principal Hydrogeologist

Dr Richard Cresswell, visited the dam on Wednesday 18 December after being briefed on the project by Council.

In the New Year, they will take all the work done by Council to date including surveys, seismic studies, flood hydrology studies, flora and fauna studies and cultural heritage investigations to the next stage being the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement.

Preparation of the EIS will take between 12 and 18 months. It will then be placed on public exhibition and Council will seek submissions from the public and interested parties.

All submissions must be formally considered and responded to in a Response to Submission Report which, in conjunction with the EIS, will go to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment for assessment and making a recommendation to the Minister.

While the Minister or their delegate provides the conditions of the environmental approval, Council makes the final determination on whether the raising of the wall of Clarrie Hall Dam can go ahead.

During preparation of the EIS, Eco Logical will work with Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) to address recommendations made in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment (ACHA) prepared for the project. Addressing the recommendations will include further investigation and assessment of potential archaeological deposits and the development of protocols for the community collection, recording, analysis and long-term management of cultural material. Eco Logical will prepare a final ACHA, including a draft Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the project, should the proposal be approved.

Before the draft EIS goes on public exhibition for comment early in 2021, Council will engage with the community to assist community members to understand the process and make submissions on the EIS.

Council is committed to full transparency on this project and all documentation is publicly available at https://www.yoursaytweed.com.au/RaisingClarrieHall

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Wednesday 13 November 2019

Council has approved the awarding of a contract to an external consultancy to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed raising of Clarrie Hall Dam.

The near $900,000 contract was awarded to Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd.

Member for Tweed Geoff Provest welcomed the decision, saying the preparation of the EIS for the dam was a vital step in ensuring Tweed’s future water security.

“We are experiencing one of the worst droughts on record and while the Tweed is in a much better position than many other communities across the state, we are not immune to its impacts,” Mr Provest said.

“I congratulate Council in progressing the early stages of the project and am proud the NSW Government has been able to help fund that important work through the Restart NSW Safe and Secure Water Program.”

Preparation of the EIS will take between 12 and 18 months, during which the consultants will consider and respond to all issues raised in the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) and the surveys and investigations done to date. The EIS will then be placed on public exhibition and Council will seek submissions from the public and interested parties.

All submissions must be formally considered and responded to in a Response to Submission Report which, in conjunction with the EIS, will go to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment for assessment and making a recommendation to the Minister. The Minister, or his delegate, will then decide if the project can go ahead and if so under what conditions.

Before the draft EIS goes on public exhibition for comment early in 2021, Council will engage with the community to assist community members to understand the process and make submissions on the EIS.

During preparation of the EIS, Eco Logical will work with Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) to address recommendations made in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment (ACHA) prepared for the project. Addressing the recommendations will include further investigation and assessment of potential archaeological deposits and the development of protocols for the community collection, recording, analysis and long-term management of cultural material. Eco Logical will prepare a final ACHA, including a draft Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the project should the proposal be approved.

Meanwhile, Council will continue with plans to revegetate lands purchased to raise the wall of the dam, relocate telecommunications and electricity assets out of the proposed inundation area and investigate options to pursue carbon neutrality for the project, while finalising planning and land acquisitions. To date, some 85 per cent of the private land required has been purchased or is under contract.

The EIS also will address such questions as whether a small hydro electricity generation plant should be put on the dam and whether trees within the new inundation footprint should be cleared or submerged.

Council is committed to full transparency on this project and all documentation is publicly available at https://www.yoursaytweed.com.au/RaisingClarrieHall

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16 July 2019

Council recently finalised the scope of works to develop the Environmental Impact Statement for raising the Clarrie Hall Dam wall, which aims to secure the Tweed’s water supply beyond 2026.

Council gave approval in December 2015 to begin the planning phase for raising the wall and acquiring the private property needed to do it.

What has been achieved so far:

• Completed concept design and all the investigative studies required to raise the wall.

• Eleven of the 16 properties needed have been secured and Council is continuing negotiations on the remaining five.

• Council has begun to fence the new dam property and enforce the requirements of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines to not allow any stock within the dam boundary.

• Council is well advanced in working with Telstra and Essential Energy on relocating their assets out of the inundation zone.

What’s next?

• In August, Council will award the winning tenderer, which will mark the beginning of a 12 to 18-month-long journey to secure final Ministerial approval for this critical project to proceed.

• Council is about to begin geotechnical investigations to build a new bridge across Doon Doon Creek to replace the existing McCabe’s Bridge because it will be under three and a half metres of water when the raised dam fills.

• Plans are in place to measure and monitor the effectiveness of Council’s efforts to revegetate the land it has purchased and restore it to native mixed eucalypt open forest.

• Council is exploring the feasibility of hydro power generation at the dam and looking into what is required to achieve carbon neutral construction.

• Council is considering drafting a new dam management plan as part of the project and well ahead of construction starting in 2023.

15 May 2019

Council wishes to advise you that it is seeking to establish an arrangement where a suitable operator would slash and bale at no cost to Council areas near Clarrie Hall Dam and retain the right to keep or sell the baled grass.

This tender can be viewed at https://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Tenders/Current

The deadline for responding to this tender has been extended for one week to Wednesday 22 May 2019.

25 February 2019

The water level of Clarrie Hall Dam has fallen below 90 per cent capacity, putting the shire on notice that if significant rain is not received in the next eight weeks water restrictions will be put in place.

The sale and movement of water outside the shire is now banned. That is, water carters can still supply shire customers but cannot sell water across the shire boundary. Water carting is banned from the Uki and Tyalgum supplies.

“The level of the dam is dropping close to 2 per cent a week, meaning we have about eight weeks until we hit 75 per cent capacity and have to declare Level 1 water restrictions,” Manager Water and Wastewater Anthony Burnham said.

“To delay the imposition of restrictions, we all need to conserve water where we can. Currently the average use per person per day in the Tweed is 177 litres, against a target of 160 litres per person per day. We know we can do better and there’s no time like now to try.”

If implemented, Level 1 restrictions mean you cannot water your lawn. You can water your garden every second day (using the odd/even house numbering system) but only for one hour between 4pm and 9am using a hand-held hose or 15 minutes using a micro spray or drip irrigation system. No sprinkler or soaker hoses are allowed and no one can water their garden on the 31^st of the month.

If you have just laid turf, you can water it for one hour a day for the first 14 days of establishment only.

If you have a swimming pool or spa, you can top it up between 4pm and 9am using a hand-held hose but you cannot empty and refill it. If you are building a new pool or spa, you can fill them.

You can top up a fish pond to keep the fish alive but you can’t build or fill a new one.

You can water your dog or horse but you can’t wash him or his house unless you use a bucket or hand-held hose.

If you are selling or leasing your house and need to wash it down, you can do that with a water efficient high-pressure cleaner with Council approval only.

For cars, it’s buckets anytime or hand-held hoses between 4pm and 9am.

To wash the saltwater off the tinny, you have 10 minutes only using a hand-held hose.

Permitted uses of water are different for commercial customers and for businesses that rely on water as a key input. These customers should refer directly to our Drought Management Policy to manage their water use if restrictions are applied.

18 February 2019

Council has reviewed the proposed alignment of the new McCabes Bridge, to replace the existing bridge which will be inundated when the wall of Clarrie Hall Dam is raised.

We now propose to re-align the road further to the north-west, allowing it to traverse the edge of the gully rather than the centre of the gully.

This modification has been made possible because Council now owns the property just south of the existing bridge, namely the former Coleman property at 511 Doon Doon Road.

To understand the proposed change to the alignment, see the documents March 2018 alignment and February 2019 alignment in the Documents Library on this page.

Essentially the new alignment will have no additional adverse impact on motorists or residents but will provide a number of benefits, namely:

· moving the road further from the neighbouring property boundaries

· allowing an improved alignment of the intersection of Commissioners Creek Road and Doon Doon Road, and

· allowing the same entry driveways to private property neighbours as exist now.

The revised alignment also will provide a number of benefits for Council with respect to constructability and cost, namely:

· reduce the amount of earthworks to be undertaken by an estimated 20,000 cubic metres

· reduce the requirement to haul fill from one site to another

· eliminate the need to install a large culvert to drain the upstream gully

· require an additional 300 metres of roadworks on the southern side, and

· cost slightly less.

To have your say on this proposal, please use the Forum page below.

Tuesday 15 January 2019

Council yesterday began releasing water from Clarrie Hall Dam to ensure continued supply to the Tweed as the Bray Park Weir level drops up to 40mm further every day without rain.

The dam currently sits at 99 per cent full but the weir water level is 230mm below the weir wall.

The water release from the dam is designed to ensure continued supply to meet the demand for raw water at Bray Park Water Treatment Plant.

However, the water release will have little or no effect on a blue-green algal bloom which has currently affected the weir. Some customers may detect an unpleasant musty or earthy smell and taste to the water but are assured it is safe to drink.

“The smell will be most noticeable in hot water and confined spaces, such as the shower room, but remains well within the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and poses no risk to human health,” said Manager Water and Wastewater Anthony Burnham.

Anyone experiencing an unpleasant smell or taste to their drinking water is asked to contact Council on (02) 6670 2400 to assist Council to monitor the situation.

The continuing hot dry weather also has resulted in insufficient river flows to hold back a potential saltwater tidal overtopping of the weir next week.

Council will deploy the temporary concrete block barrier across the full width of the weir wall on Friday to protect against a predicted overtopping event on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, 22 and 23 January respectively.

“The predicted tide is forecast to be higher than the current water level in the weir so we will barrier off the weir wall to prevent any salt water entering the weir and contaminating our raw water supply.

“Once the risk passes, we will remove the temporary barrier, possibly by Friday next week.”

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4 October 2018

Council has called Expressions of Interest for an independent consultant to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project to raise the wall of Clarrie Hall Dam.

Expressions close at 4pm on Wednesday 17 October 2018.

Council is seeking to shortlist tenderers to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, which considers and addresses all issues raised in the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) based on all the surveys and investigations done to date and comments by relevant Agencies.

Investigations completed or well advanced include biodiversity, cultural heritage, flooding and hydrology and an environmental flows assessments.

It will take 18 months to two years to complete the EIS, before it goes on public exhibition in early 2020.

“The project is classified as a State Significant Infrastructure Project. Calling Expressions of Interest marks a significant milestone for the project which remains on schedule for the dam to be raised by 2026,” Project Manager Robert Siebert said.

“The EIS will go on public exhibition in early 2020. Council will be urging the community to get more involved and make their submissions at that time as it is a requirement that all submissions be considered. This is the stage when every voice will be heard.

All the information on the project is available at https://www.yoursaytweed.com.au/ClarrieHallDam.

“Council will continue its commitment to full transparency on this project as we enter this critical phase of the project.”

Expression of Interest documentation is available on the eTender site on Council’s website.

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A further significant milestone towards augmenting the shire’s water supply has been achieved. NSW Department of Planning has issued to Council the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements to be addressed in the form of an Environmental Impact Statement for raising the wall of Clarrie Hall Dam.

The Department of Planning and Environment has provided Council with the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements for the raising of Clarrie Hall Dam. The next steps will be for Council to review the requirements and engage a suitably qualified consultant to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with those requirements. The EIS will then be placed on public exhibition and the public will be able to make submissions detailing their support or otherwise for the project and detailing any concerns they may have.

It is anticipated the EIS will take some 12 to 18 months to prepare with exhibition in early 2020.

Council is continuing work on establishing vegetation restoration trial sites for the revegetation of the land it purchases for the raising of the dam and is working with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust to ensure these restoration sites are managed in accordance with new biodiversity legislation.