LNP Urannah deal questioned. POSTED BY PETER MCCALLUM · SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 9:58 AM
ABC News reporter, Mark Willacy, has been investigating the method by which a $3 million grant was made to a Brisbane company to undertake a feasibility study into a dam at Urannah Creek west of Mackay.Earlier this year MCG engaged an engineer to undertake a review of the previous 18 studies into the possibility of constructing this dam. The review found that non of the previous studies found that the project would generate an economic return. You can read our full report at: http://bit.ly/2djKZoS
Urannah Dam will waste taxpayers money. POSTED BY PETER MCCALLUM · JULY 08, 2016 6:48 AM
Mackay Conservation Group released a report last week which shows that tens of millions of taxpayer’s dollars will be wasted if the proposed Urannah Dam west of Mackay goes ahead. The report is a review of 17 previous studies into the dam dating back to the 1960s, none of which have provided sufficient evidence to justify a new dam, yet the federal government has recently committed $3 million to an 18th feasibility study of the Urannah Dam proposal. The report, An Economic Analysis Of The Urannah Dam Project, found that it is most likely that for every $1 spent on the dam, only 75 cents of economic benefit would be returned. Even the most optimistic scenario from previous studies shows that the Urannah Dam would barely break even. The key findings of the report are:
– The Urannah dam is a more expensive option to deliver water for irrigation, the Galilee basin, and for the Bowen region;
– The Urannah dam is a cheaper option to supply water to the Bowen basin, however, there does not appear to be enough additional demand for water supply to warrant construction of another water source in the near future;
– The Burdekin Falls Dam costs $11.5M per annum less than the proposed Urannah dam at delivering the same economic outcome;
– The Urannah dam provides a return of $0.75 for every dollar invested assuming full consumption of water by agriculture and mining. Read more.
Urannah Dam economic analysis. POSTED BY PETER MCCALLUM · JUNE 30, 2016 5:00 PM
Download a copy of the report “An Economic Analysis Of The Urannah Dam Project” here: Urannah Dam economic analysis
Urannah Dam is for mining not agriculture. POSTED BY PETER MCCALLUM · FEBRUARY 04, 2016 12:30 PM
Urannah Dam has been in the news a lot over the past year. Politicians have been talking up the proposal as a potential source of new water for agricultural land around Bowen. However, there are serious questions about whether farmers will ever see a drop of any water from this dam. The Urannah Creek west of Eungella range is a beautiful place that has considerable environmental values. Its water flows into the Broken River and then into the Burdekin.It is home to the Irwin’s Turtle a unique species that was discovered in 1990 by Steve Irwin’s father Bob. Read more.