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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Subscriber only The Future Water Project 2060 includes a new plan for underground water extraction on the Northern Rivers. After the Dunoon dam was shelved by Rous councillors at the December 2020 meeting, a new plan was needed to secure water delivery to Byron, Ballina, Lismore and Richmond Valley. Currently, the four shires get their water from Rocky Creek Dam, Emigrant Creek Dam and the Wilsons River. But since NSW Government estimates that demand for water in the area will be higher than the supply by 2024, Rous chair Keith Williams said the need for a new action plan was urgent.
Full details: Where will our water come from? byronnews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from byronnews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Mia Armitage
NSW member for Ballina, Tamara Smith (Greens), has spoken of disgust at the latest Liberal-National government grant rorts scandal, which has directly impacted this electorate and the neighbouring Lismore electorate.
Freedom of information requests from Ms Smith’s colleague in the upper house, David Shoebridge MLC, show the Lismore electorate received less than two-and a-half million dollars in recovery funds, after the so-called Black Summer of 2019/2020, while the Ballina electorate received none. Ballina MP Tamara Smith by the Richmond River in Ballina. Photo David Lowe.
The NSW Bushfire Economic Recovery grants scheme has been under investigation in a parliamentary inquiry this month, with analysis by Michael West Media showing nearly all of the $177 million in Round One was distributed to coalition-held seats, without a proper application process, and without independent oversight.
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Subscriber only The deputy chair of Rous County Council has made a plea to Northern Rivers residents to voice their support for the Dunoon Dam. Ballina Shire councillor Sharon Cadwallader made the request via social media, asking people to email Rous County Council and show support for the project. Cr Cadwallader is one of three Rous councillors who have tabled a rescission motion to bring the dam back into the Future Water Plan 2060. Please help me to help you by emailing the General Manager at records@rous.nsw.gov.au ASAP as the rescission motion will be debated on February 17, she said.