Growers need answers on Paradise Dam

CANEGROWERS is calling on the State Government and Sunwater to come clean with farming communities in the Bundaberg region following revelations that restoration work on Paradise Dam will be halted due to the discovery of serious structural problems.

Sunwater has revealed that rather than fixing the existing wall, the dam will now need to be completely rebuilt due to severe degradation of the original concrete, which makes restoration impossible.

CANEGROWERS Senior Vice Chair Mark Mammino said the news had come as a shock to irrigators in the region, which produces more the $1 billion worth of agricultural produce every year, including sugarcane.

“There are so many questions that need to be answered, like why has it taken four years for the government and Sunwater to discover this problem,” said Mr Mammino, who grows cane in region.

“It’s two years since the state and federal governments made a big song and dance about jointly funding the $1.2 billion restoration project. Now here we are in 2024 and we’re in a worse position than we were in 2022.

“Instead of being restored, the dam now needs to be completely rebuilt 60 or 70 metres downstream, but we have no idea when that work will even begin, never mind when it might be completed.”

Mr Mammino said while community safety would always be paramount, the government also needed to protect people’s livelihoods and industry.

“The future expansion of the region’s sugarcane industry, and the agricultural industry more generally, has been on hold for four years,” Mr Mammino said.

“That needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Water security needs to be guaranteed if we want growers to have the confidence to continue investing in their businesses and in the Bundaberg region.

“We need a clear timeline on when work will commence, when it will be completed, and what mitigation measures will be in place to ensure irrigators continue to have access to their full irrigation allotments during that time.”

Mr Mammino said that Sunwater had repetitively advised that they will not be selling any additional water.