What we're doing
Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer
June 2010
ACTEW Corporation is committed to providing a safe, secure and sustainable water supply for the people of the ACT and region. The Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer is a key component in ACTEW’s long term plan to ensure water security.
What is the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer?
The Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer involves transferring up to 100 megalitres of water per day from the Murrumbidgee River through a 12 kilometre underground pipeline to Burra Creek in NSW. The water will then flow approximately 13 kilometres down Burra Creek into Googong Reservoir.
Why is it needed?
The Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer together with the enlargement of the Cotter Dam will:
- reduce the severity of future water restrictions;
- increase the diversity of water sources supplying the ACT region, for example, should the Cotter catchment again be impacted by severe bushfires; and
- provide additional supply into Googong Reservoir (inflows into Googong Reservoir have decreased by about 85 per cent during the period from 2001 to 2008).
The NSW Government declared the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer to be a “critical infrastructure project” under Section 75 of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. This recognises the urgent need to implement the project to secure water supply for the region, while still providing for the rigorous scrutiny of any environmental impacts.
Further information about critical infrastructure status can be obtained on the NSW Department of Planning website www.planning.nsw.gov.au
How long will the project take?
ACTEW is expecting to receive all required approvals around August 2010. Construction would then commence in late 2010 and is expected to take between 15 to 18 months to complete.
What’s been happening lately?
Environmental Impact Statement and Approvals
On 14 April 2010, the NSW Minister for Planning the Hon. Tony Kelly MLC announced the approval of the NSW portion of the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer. This approval follows the public exhibition of the draft Environmental Impact Assessment in August 2009.
On Friday 14 May 2010, the ACT Minister for Planning, Andrew Barr MLA deemed the ACT portion of the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer Environmental Impact Statement complete. This action has allowed ACTEW to submit a Development Application (DA) for the project to the ACT Planning and Land Authority on Friday 21 May 2010. The DA will be on public exhibition until Monday 21 June 2010.
In finalising our environmental impact documentation for lodgement with the NSW Department of Planning and the ACT Planning and Land Authority, ACTEW prepared responses to all issues raised by the community during the public exhibition period and in written submissions.
The project was also referred to the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) in October 2009, for further consideration on the predicted impacts to high quality Box Gum Grassy Woodland Endangered Ecological Communities, Pink-tailed Worm Lizard habitats, as well as Trout Cod and Macquarie Perch habitats.
On 20 November 2009, DEWHA advised ACTEW that the proposed action was considered a Controlled Action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The project is therefore being assessed by Public Environment Report (PER). The draft PER was lodged with the Commonwealth on 21 April 2010 and was on public exhibition from Friday 23 April until Monday 24 May.
You can view a copy of the draft PER on the ACTEW website.
Protecting our environment
Environmental commitments
ACTEW takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and will work with the community, local environment groups and agencies to ensure a high standard of environmental management will guide the construction and operation of the project. The EIS features over 70 commitments that will mitigate and minimise any potential adverse impacts of the project.
Now that NSW approval has been given to the project, ACTEW will work closely with the NSW Office of Water and the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water to prepare the appropriate Construction Environment Management Plans and supporting documentation to allow construction to commence. These plans will also assist to manage our environmental commitments within the ACT.
ACTEW is committed to high quality, long-term rehabilitation of affected land and will work closely with landholders to ensure land is restored to original condition or better. Where it is not possible to avoid impacting good quality native vegetation a biodiversity offset strategy will be implemented to compensate for any vegetation loss. This involves setting aside a large contiguous piece of similar land located in the project area which will be dedicated towards a long term native revegetation program.
Working to improve the health of the Murrumbidgee River and protect Burra Creek
ACTEW’s commitments in relation to the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer will establish an adaptive management program to monitor the health of the Murrumbidgee River and Burra Creek, and ensure that no adverse ecological changes are taking place.
The monitoring program will be based on the highly successful Cotter catchment monitoring program which ACTEW has been undertaking for the last 10 years. The program will support other ecological management projects, such as the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach project, linked to the ACT Natural Resource Management Council.
The monitoring program will also be used to inform and target ACTEW’s source water protection program, which is helping to ensure the long term health of the Murrumbidgee River.
Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy
ACTEW has committed to offsetting all greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction and operation of the project through a number of options including the use of biodiesel during construction and high efficiency energy use.
We are also building a mini-hydro electric generator to recover around 25-30 percent of the energy required to transfer the water and reduce associated operating costs. The mini-hydro will be co-located with the Burra Creek discharge structure upstream of the junction of Williamsdale and Burra Roads.
For further information on the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer or other Water Security Projects, please contact the information line on 02 6248 3563 or email watersecurity@actew.com.au