Rous County Council Chair Keith Williams. Photo David Lowe.
Since the Dunoon Dam was shelved, Rous County Council has put a new draft of the Future Water Project 2060 on public exhibition. They are currently seeking feedback from people living in the four constituent councils of Richmond Valley, Byron, Ballina and Lismore.
In part two of this two part series,
The Echo sat down with Rous Chair Keith Williams to dig into the detail, and address some of the controversy around the future of water in the Northern Rivers.
Your opponents are currently attacking recycled water using quite inflammatory language. Is this damaging the prospects of success of projects like Perradenya, which some of these people have previously publicly supported?
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The Dunoon Dam has twice been rejected by Rous County Council as an option to secure future water supply for the Northern Rivers, so why does it remain a topic of heated debate?
Lismore City Council heard a motion at its meeting this week, requesting the council support the dam being put back on the table for consideration.
The motion was not successful, with five of eight councillors voting against it, but there remains a push from some sectors to see the dam reinstated to the Future Water Project 2060.
In December, the water authority for the region, Rous County Council, voted to exclude the Dunoon Dam as an option, electing to change the focus of the plan to other options – such as upgrading Marom Creek Water Treatment Plant and the use of new underground water from the Alstonville area for the first 10 years, to develop technology to allow for direct and indirect potable reuse of water.
Why Dunoon dam debate keeps raising its head tweeddailynews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tweeddailynews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Subscriber only The last Lismore City Council general meeting saw a new mayor elected and the general manager sacked, so what s in store for Tuesday night s meeting?
Councillor motions • Cr Neil Marks proposes the council to write to the Page MP, Federal Health Minister and the Prime Minister, to show its support for the COVID-19 vaccination program and to ask that the region be prioritised in its rollout. • A motion will be raised to change the way development applications are assessed, allowing more councillor involvement and oversight of planning decisions. Cr Adam Guise will move the motion, saying a Planning Review Committee may reduce staff workload from having planning decisions called up to the chamber.