ProTen poultry farm embarks on water security with double dam proposal

The Rushes Creek Poultry Production Farm, first approved in 2020, will eventually house up to 3,051,000 birds at a time.

This week, a development application (DA) for two 250-megalitre dams to be built on the poultry farm was put on public exhibition.

The farm's developer, ProTen, expects to spend $4.98 million building the dams, according to the DA's planning documents.

The dams required separate approval from the farm itself, as it was determined by the Department of Planning and Environment to be outside of the project's initial remit.

ProTen has been working with Tamworth Regional Council to get planning approval for the dams since June 2023.

Both dams will store water extracted from the Namoi River which will then be used to support the farm's development and operations.

According to the DA, the dams are expected to be filled during "periods of abundant flow" to provide a secure and sustainable source of water "solely for the consumption of the poultry farm".

The dams' combined 500-megalitre capacity will be enough to supply all of the farm's planned 54 poultry sheds for one year.

The first 18 sheds have been constructed and are in operation, and the dams' approval will take the project another step into its second stage of building the remaining 36 sheds.

The dams are open for public comment on the NSW Planning Portal until February 14, 2024.