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DECISION NO. CABINET MINUTE , / ;2_ / 4 11 ~O

SUBJECT:------.....::_Water Resources Commission - Warrego______River _ Weir Sites

l..l-°' - ?' (Submission No. l 2 ~ ~ ) [( uO a.m. -;o ~oples Received at m. f / ~ /19 ~ rv -B A-L- '-iopies Made CIRCULATION DETAILS

Decision ile 1 21 MR. AHERN 2 22

3 MR. GUNN 23 ~ 4 MR. GIBBS 24 MR. GLASSO 5 25 MR. AUSTIN 6 26 L?A 7 27

8 28 MR. HARPER g 29 MR. MUNTZ 10 30

1 1 MR. MCKECH IE 31

12 MR. KATTER 32 MR. 13 NEAL 33 MR. 14 34

15 35

16 MR. RANDEL 36

17 MR. COOPER 37 MR. HARVEY 18 38 ROUD 19 39

20 40 inches cm , 1 12

Blue Cyan Green

y Copy No. 20 C O N F I D E N T I A L

C A B I N E T M I N U T E

Brisbane, 12th September, 1988

Decision No. 55086

Submission No. 49658 TITLE: Hater Resources Commission - tJarrego River \'Jeir Sites.

CABINET decided:-

1. That the two schemes be approved in principle for inclusion in the Uater Reso urces Commission water resources construction programme , when funds are available, subject to further discussions with interested parties.

n s 3 C'> 2 . That the reports attached to the Submission be approved for .,,...-:;r release to affected landho lders, Local Authorities and other OJ C .... relevan t organisations as a basis for further discussions. CD ~ Q. 3. That meetings be held between Dater Resources Commission, a, landholders and other bodies with a view to identifying commitment to participate in the scheme. (') ~ 1:::::, n 4. That a further report be made to Cabinet by the Honourable the 0 Minister for Water Resources and Maritime Services indicating the 0- result o f those meetings, the level of acceptance of the schemes ~ together with the relative priorities of the schemes, for final endo rsement for the project ( s ) to proceed . fg

CIRCULATION: Water Resources Commission and copy to Minister. Premier 's Department and copy to Premier and Treasurer. Treasury Department and copy to Minister. Department of Lands and copy to Minister. Department of Primary Industries and copy to Minister. Departme t of Industry Development and copy to Minister. De m Local Government and copy to Minister. ~ ~1:fie ....,.,;~~isters for perusal and return. r ~ ~96 ~8 Submission No ...

Copy No ...... ::fl •.•.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION "C" - CONFIDENTIAL

FOR CABINET

WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION

WARREGO RIVER WEIR SITES

l . PURPOSE OF SUBMISSION

This submission presents the attached reports by the Water Resources Commission on the Weir sites. The sites are at Bakers Bend (AMTD 318.25 km) some 40 kilometres south of Charleville and Keanes Crossing (AMTD 124.8 km) some six kilometres south of .

The purpose of this submission is to present for consideration by Government, proposals for encouraging more intensive development and irrigation in the vicinity of Charleville and Cunnamulla by the construction of weirs on the Warrego River. The ~~-

estimated cost of the weir at Bakers Bend is $2.82 Q. --1\) million and at Keanes Crossing $2.52 million. a, (') ~ 2. HISTORY OF INVESTIGATIONS ln :::::, 0 In the late 1940's the Shire Council and neighbouring Paroo Shire Council were concerned at -0 declines in local population. In a bid to generate new -. primary industries both employed consultant engineer Ci) n Mr. Jack Mulholland to investigate the feasibility of iCD Q constructin9 weirs on the Warrego River for the :, ,...::s development of irrigation. 0 ..,, In more recent times representations have been made to - the Water Resources Commission regarding the silting of the Bakers Bend and Keanes Crossing water holes. Dredging was considered as an option but discarded on the grounds of cost and the need for ongoing maintenance. It was considered that weirs at both sites would best serve the needs of the local community and investigations proceeded on that basis. 2.

3 • PRESENT DEVELOPMENT AND AVAILABLE WATER SUPPLY

The town of Charleville annually consumes some 2 000 megaliteres of water drawn from four artesian bores. Cunnamulla draws its town water supply from three artesian bores with current consumption of the order of 900 megalitres per year. The bore water is generally unsuitable for irrigation purposes.

Irrigation in the Charleville district is centred around waterholes on the Ward and Warrego Rivers. There are currently 25 licenses in the Murweh Shire with allocations to irrigate 180 hectares of fruit, vegetables, fodder and grain. It is estimated that a total of 500 megalitres annually are drawn from the Cunnamulla waterhole to water small areas of lucerne, vegetables and fruit crops.

r • FUTURE WATER REQUIREMENTS

The climate and soils of the Warrego district and the enormous annual discharge of the river favour irrigation expansion. The limited area of land riparian to waterholes and the lack of local knowledge of irrigation practices currently limit development. A level of interest has been shown by private irrigators n ::;- 3 n in establishing farms in the area and this will largely ::,- determine future demand for water. CD "' C:-

6 .• BENEFITS OF PROPOSED SCHEMES

Substantial areas of land suitable for irrigation with minor to moderate limitations have been identified upstream of both sites and within 1.5 milometres of the river banks. Soil types favour horticulture at Bakers Bend and agricultural crops at Keanes Crossing. The establishment of these industries would provide a boost to the local economny currently almost totally dependent on the grazing industry. 3 •

7 • ESTIMATED COSTS

It is envisaged that each of the weirs could be constructed over two financial years with the annual expenditure as follows:-

Bakers Bend Keanes Crossing

Year l $ . 5 2 M $ .41 M Year 2 $ 2.30 M $ 2.11 M

TOTAL $ 2.82 M $ 2.52 M

The capital costs are estimated as at June 1988.

8. POSSIBLE CHARGES FOR WATER USE

Revenue from the projects would be derived from charges for water delivered. An initial charge of $10 per megalitre of use would be sufficient when the schemes are at full development, to recoup interest and redemption on about 10% of the capital cost in addition n to operation and maintenance costs. 3 CD C: .... 9. CONDITIONS OF SUPPLY CD ~ Q. l'I) Landholders would be authorised to draw water from the a, Warrego River by issue of licenses under the Water Act. Licenses would have conditions relating to supply and 0 ~ would include:- 1 n ::::s 0 Volume of nominal allocation 0- Period of license , Metering to be provided and maintained by the G> n Commission CDciJ Q Minimum charges equal to 75 percent of allocation ::::s :::J Water charges to be reviewed annually

10 . ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT

A detailed economic assessment of each of the schemes has been undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries.

Benefit/cost (B/C) ratios have been determined for both sites based on storage safe yield utilization. At Bakers Bend various scenarios were studied with the most attractive comprising areas of Date Palms and Geraldton Wax.

A B/C ratio of 11 was achieved. 4.

The soils riparian to the proposed Keanes Crossing are more suited to forage crops and a B/C ratio of 1.00 was obtained when a small area of fruit and vegetables was included in production.

Some caution must be exercised in interpreting these results owing to the sensitivity of the analysis to changes in project parameters. The economics of the Bakers Bend scheme appear attractive. At Keanes Crossing, the combination of crops will determine the viability of the proposal.

However, these schemes are likely to be catalysts for more intensive development in the area with the use of private capital. It is reasonable to view the projects in that light and regard that aspect together with the indicated B/C ratios as being clearly supportive.

11. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

A preliminary appraisal of environmental factors related to construction of weirs on the Warrego River has been carried out. It is clear the weirs will substantially enhance the economic and social environment of the region by providing a supply for irrigation development. No major adverse environmental effects ar~ expected however, it will be necessary to carry out an archealogical survey of likely inundated areas.

It is concluded that any deterimental effects will be far outweighed by the benefits and enhancement of the environment resulting from the projects.

12. AGRICULTURAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

Considerable assistance was given by the Department of Primary Industries in compiling the data for these schemes and assessing the agricultural and economic aspects. This assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

13. ATTITUDE OF LANDHOLDERS

Formal discussions have not been held with landholders who would benefit from the construction of the weirs.

It will be necessary to hold such discussions and to circulate information regarding the proposals among potential irrigators to gauge the level of interest in developing private irrigation schemes.

These discussions will assist in determining the relative priorities between the schemes and the timing of their implementation. 5 .

14. RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recowJTiended that:-

(a) Cabinet approve the two schemes in principle for inclusion in the Water Resources Commission water resources construction program, when funds are available. Subject to further discussions with interested parties.

(b) The reports be approved by release to affected landholders, Local Authorities and other relevant organisations as a basis for further discussions.

(c) Meetings be held between Water Resources Commission, landholders and other bodies with a view to identifying commitment to participate in the scheme.

(d) A further report be made to Cabinet by the Honourable the Minister for Water Resources and Maritime Services indicating the result of those meetings, the level of acceptance of the schemes together with the relative priorities of the schemes, for final endorsement for the project(s) to proceed.

DON NEAL Minister for Water Resources and Maritime Services

Brisbane 3th September, 1988.