Water Security ProgramACT Government and ACTEW Corporation
Water Security Program ACTEW Corporation

Major Projects

Tantangara Transfer

While the Enlarged Cotter Dam and Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer are vital projects that will increase our storage capacity, we need to further diversify our sources of water in ways that make us less dependent on rainfall in our local region. For this reason, two further ideas for the future are under serious consideration, a Demonstration Water Purification Plant and the Tantangara Transfer.

What is the Tantangara Transfer option?

The Tantangara Transfer involves negotiations to determine the feasibility of transferring water from the Snowy Mountains Scheme, most likely via the Tantangara Reservoir in NSW, to the ACT.

This would involve:

Tantangara Dam
  1. Buying NSW water entitlements (volumes) from the Murrumbidgee/Murray;
  2. Convert the water purchases to ACT entitlements;
  3. Agree on commercial arrangements with the Snowy Hydro;
  4. Store the water entitlements in the Tantangara Reservoir; and
  5. Transfer the water to the ACT.

Why it may be needed?

The Tantangara Transfer will help to combat the drastic effects of climate change on our water supply by giving us access to a source of water less dependent on the ACT local rainfall.

Transfer Options

Many options have been assessed in terms of a mechanism to physically transfer the water from Tantangara to the ACT. The preferred option at this time is to release the water into the Murrumbidgee River, allow it to flow about 100km to the ACT, then pump it from the Murrumbidgee River to Googong Reservoir via a pipeline.

The other options include systems of pipelines or tunnels directly from Tantangara through to the Cotter catchment. Details of these options can be found in the 2005 Future Water Options report on the Tantangara Option.

Regulatory and Commercial Issues

Inter-Governmental negotiations are required to obtain the necessary approvals to enable water to be purchased and transferred from irrigators downstream of the ACT and be stored in the Snowy Scheme, possibly in the Tantangara Reservoir. Commercial negotiations are also required for the storage delivery costs.

How long will it take?

It is envisaged that it will take until the end of 2008 to complete political, legal and commercial work on this option, after which the ACT Government will make a decision regarding the Tantangara Transfer and Demonstration Water Purification Plant options.