GCC Build More Dams Group Calls For Government Action

With thousands of dead fish in Menindee, Griffith City Council Build More Dams Action Group have asked for their proposal to divert water from the Clarence River to the Murray Darling Basin to be seriously considered. 

Build More Dams Action Group Chair Councillor Dino Zappacosta said that recent events have only confirmed the need for a change, reiterating that things will only get worse if action isn't taken. 

"We can’t let what is happening continue without taking another look at this scheme. We’ve tried almost everything we can think of to get Government to make this happen, but we just haven’t been able to get anywhere. There has been public outcry over the fish at Menindee due to the lack of water in the Darling River. I truly believe the answer is to look at our scheme so we can get more water down the Darling to where it’s needed."  Cr Zappacosta

The Group has approached politicians, and federal, state and local governments over the past years to look at the possibility of a study on the Clarence River Diversion Scheme, which was prepared by engineer David Coffey in 1984 and showed that water could be "dammed in the Clarence/Northern NSW region and piped through the Great Dividing Range through a tunnel feeding into the Darling River".

While there has been significant government support for the scheme, Cr Zappacosta said that they're not getting anywhere, adding, “With what’s happening at Menindee we need to look at a scheme that is more plausible and will assist this region. We just need more water down the Darling.”

Let us know what you think of the issue in the Facebook comments.