ARMIDALE residents have sent a clear message to council that they want Dumaresq Dam saved at all costs – but they could have a fight on their hands.
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A public meeting on Tuesday night of about 100 people – which had to be moved from the council chambers to the Armidale Bowling Club at the last minute due to numbers – voted unanimously to support a $3.5 million plan to retain and strengthen the wall at Dumaresq Dam.
Its integrity has been called into question by the NSW Dam Safety Committee, which found it posed a hazard in the event of a major flood and needed to be urgently upgraded.
A subsequent report by an independent consultant to Armidale Dumaresq Council recommended three options: the dam be decommissioned; the dam wall be significantly lowered; or strengthened at a significant cost to ratepayers.
At last month’s council meeting it was agreed the council start a consultation period with the community on their thoughts for the future of the popular recreation area.
Armidale Dumaresq Ratepayers Association convened the public meeting to assist with the preparation of its submission to council.
There were many passionate arguments for saving the dam, one of the oldest in the state, with unanimous support for a motion that described the dam as the only large accessible body of water close to Armidale and highlighted its popularity as a venue for water sports and leisure activities.
But, Armidale Dumaresq strategic projects director David Steller told the meeting while strengthening the existing wall may be the preferred option of many, it was also the most expensive option and the council would have to cut costs in other areas to finance the work.
“We already have $11 million worth of loans that we are paying, including one to clean up the site of the old gasworks,” Mr Steller said.
Ratepayers association chairman Maria Hitchcock said the consultants who prepared the options for council also favoured spending the money on the wall upgrade, but she acknowledges the reservations by council about the considerable price tag.
She said Tuesday night’s meeting was just the beginning of a community and political campaign to convince them that saving the dam was the only reasonable solution.
Mrs Hitchcock conceded though the council had been placed in a difficult – and costly – position by the dam safety committee, saying it should never have come to this.
“(The committee) is terrorising councils around the state ... forcing them to spend huge amounts of money on something that’s unlikely to ever happen,” she said.
