"WE have a dam, right now, that is akin to a bathtub with the plug out of it.
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"Until that time that ... the dam rules are amended, you have a $50 million asset that, fundamentally, on paper, is worthless."
Those were the words of director of engineering services Darren Sturgiss during a long discussion at the most recent Bathurst Regional Council meeting about Winburndale Dam and the amount of water that should be let out of it.
Mr Sturgiss hopes his department has found a workable compromise on the dam's water so that the environment and the city's thirst are both satisfied, but councillors at the meeting were split on the next step to be taken.
The Winburndale Rivulet - which is dammed north-east of Bathurst and then runs into the Macquarie River south of Hill End - ran dry downstream of the dam at one stage during the most recent big drought.
Bathurst Regional Council subsequently lost a Supreme Court of NSW case in June 2022 in regards to the correct interpretation of the operating licence conditions for the dam.
A report later that year from Mr Sturgiss said council considered the Supreme Court matter to have been "close and complex" and said the depth of the discussion in the judgement appeared to accept that the conditions for the flow rules were unclear.
The dam and its flow rules were back before council at the recent June meeting, where a report from Mr Sturgiss brought councillors up to speed on the matter.
His report said the new interpretation of the dam's operating conditions (described as "very different to council's understanding of the operating conditions") means the "secure yield" the city can take from the dam has been reduced from 1033ML a year historically to 28ML.
This was described in the report as "effectively nullifying the dam's use and purpose".
"Since Winburndale Dam recently has had a $17m wall strengthening project completed, which increases the value of the dam to in excess of $50m, the current interpretation of the Operating Rules reduces the value of the dam to zero," the report from Mr Sturgiss said.
The dam's raw water supply is used for parks, gardens, open space and some key and significant businesses in town, as well as historically being relied upon to provide critical potable supply during drought times.
Winburndale Dam
- Built in the 1930s.
- Recently upgraded.
- Constructed for the purpose of Bathurst town water supply.
- Has historically provided daily water supply and critical supply during drought.
Winburndale Rivulet
- Ran dry downstream of Winburndale Dam during the most recent drought.
- Low flows out of the dam were blamed for the extinction of the platypus in the rivulet.
- A platypus sighting in the rivulet last year, thought to have migrated from the Macquarie River, has been welcomed by the Winburndale Waters Conservation Group as sign of the rivulet's recovery.
The report said council had lodged an application in January 2021 to have the existing operating conditions for Winburndale Dam modified, had been asked for more information and had prepared an updated environmental assessment in response.
Mr Sturgiss said council's new proposal for the flow rules from the dam would ensure the needs of the environment are met, the needs of all water users are met and the dam "continues to contribute positively to the water security" of the city.
He did say, though, that the proposed new flow rules would still mean a secure yield that was 235ML a year down on the 1033ML secure yield that council has worked with over many decades.
He said an increase in Bathurst's water supply or "demand management actions" beyond the water harvesting project that is currently in construction would be required to "meet the current need and to provide for growth".
"The proposed rules ensure that BRC [Bathurst Regional Council] can continue to have value in this asset for water supply purpose," Mr Sturgiss said.
At the meeting
DURING discussion on the matter at the June meeting, councillor Ian North suggested that council hold off on submitting its updated environmental assessment for the Winburndale Dam operating conditions so that a further discussion between council and the Winburndale Waters Conservation Group could be held.
Mr Sturgiss emphasised that the process to have the flow rules for the dam altered would take some time as it is, possibly taking the city into summer.
Cr North said a few more weeks might be worth it to "make sure we have got it right", but Cr Graeme Hanger was in favour of dealing with the matter on the night because of the years that had already passed since the initial conflict about the flow rules.
"Let's put our big people pants on and make a damn decision," he said.
Mr Sturgiss said up to 34ML, under the current rules, can now flow out of Winburndale Dam and down the rivulet a day, unable to be used by the city.
He said the current rules give Bathurst a secure yield from Winburndale Dam of 28ML a year and, as a means of contrast, Bathurst as a city was using 10ML a day during the last drought.
How the vote played out
A VOTE taken on holding off on submitting council's updated environmental assessment for the Winburndale Dam operating conditions was tied four-four (councillors Kirralee Burke, Ian North, Warren Aubin and Andrew Smith were in favour of deferral and councillors Jess Jennings, Graeme Hanger, Marg Hogan and Robert Taylor were against).
Cr Jennings used his casting vote to defeat the motion to defer.
A motion to pass the recommendation that council's updated environmental assessment for the Winburndale Dam operating conditions be submitted was won when councillors Jennings, Hanger, Hogan and Taylor voted for and Cr Jennings used his casting vote.
Deputy mayor Ben Fry had earlier declared a conflict of interest because of his lobbying for downstream Winburndale Rivulet landholders and had left the chamber.
Council will also provide an information session on the application for members of the Winburndale Water Users Group at the earliest possible opportunity.
