Work to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposal to raise Clarrie Hall Dam in the NSW Tweed Shire is continuing, with Council appointing consulting firm, KBR, to complete the assessment.
Tweed Shire Council Director of Engineering, David Oxenham said the EIS was now earmarked for lodgement with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment in the first half of 2024.
“By lodging the EIS, the proposal to raise the dam wall will progress one step closer to gaining NSW Government approvals,” Mr Oxenham said.
“But first, a registered environmental assessment practitioner must declare the EIS complete, accurate, of a high quality and easy to understand.
“We are confident with the expertise of KBR, the EIS will meet these strict requirements.”
Should the proposal gain all NSW and Australian Government approvals, and Council decides to proceed, construction to raise the dam wall is expected to start in late 2026, Council said in a statement today.
Mr Oxenham said raising the dam wall was vital to securing the Tweed’s water supply.
“We’re proposing to raise the dam wall by 8.5 metres to a height of 70 metres,” he said.
“This would almost triple the storage capacity of the dam to about 42,300 megalitres and secure our water supply until at least 2065.”
Work on the proposal to raise the Clarrie Hall Dam wall began in December 2015, when Council approved the planning phase.
The initial EIS preparations began in December 2019 and continued to March 2021, when Council engaged a consultant to conduct a period of online community consultation.
The contract with the consultant ended in 2021 and after going to market last year, Council appointed KBR to complete the EIS.
While the EIS is being prepared, Council says it is continuing to negotiate with private property landowners impacted by the proposal.
Two of 16 affected properties are yet to be purchased or part purchased, Council said.
