Forum to expose Tillegra Dam folly

A likely blow-out in the cost of Tillegra Dam will be picked up by unsuspecting NSW households. The proposal will flood an area the size of Sydney Harbour and is completely unnecessary, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
 
Dr Kaye said: "Tillegra Dam is not needed, it will be expensive and it will devastate the local environment. It is time for Water Minister Nathan Rees to admit his government's mistake and cancel the project.
 
"The completion of the pipeline linking Mardi to Mangrove means that Central Coast water supply is now secure for the foreseeable future.
 
"Expert geotechnical advice suggests that the site is unstable and construction costs could rise to $1 billion, despite the government
sticking to a $300 million figure.
 
"Even during the recent drought no water restrictions were needed in the lower Hunter.
 
"Our analysis shows that the proposed dam on the Williams River could add another $262 a year to household water bills in the Lower Hunter and Central Coast.
 
"That's an 84 per cent increase in Wyong and Gosford Shires.
 
"Tillegra is shaping up to be the Hunter Valley's very own version of Sydney's desalination plant.
 
"It threatens local platypus populations and will take away the livelihoods of families that have farmed the Williams River for up to
five generations," Dr Kaye said.
 
The public forum - "Tillegra Dam: Environmental and financial folly or water necessity?" * will be held on Monday September 1, at 5:15pm for 5:30pm start, in the Jubilee Room at NSW Parliament House in Macquarie Street in the City.
 
Stuart White, Director, Institute of Sustainable Futures; Cate Faehrmann, Executive Director, Nature Conservation Council of NSW; John Kaye, Greens NSW MP and Carol Pasenow, whose family has farmed the Williams Valley for four generations will discuss the controversial proposal.
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455