New Reservoirs Officially Opened
Increased water security in times of natural disaster and the drinking water supply for Airlie Beach and surrounds have doubled with the completion of the two 12.5 megalitre Cannon Valley Reservoirs.
After five years of planning, project management and development, the $9.2 million Cannon Valley Reservoirs were officially opened today by Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Julie Hall.
The construction of the new reservoirs was originally planned to begin in 2022/2023 financial year, however works were brought forward when the existing Cannonvale water reservoir for the region was severely damaged during Tropical cyclone Debbie in March 2017.
Mayor Julie Hall said that the new reservoirs would dramatically improve the water security and resilience for the residents of the of Airlie Beach and Cannonvale area.
“The Cannon Valley Reservoirs build resilience into our water infrastructure and ensures our community will have a continuous and efficient potable water supply,” Mayor Hall said.
“With our ever-growing population, we needed to future proof our water supply to meet the increasing demand from our residents.
"In the past Council has struggled to keep up with demand while repairing and maintaining ageing water infrastructure.”
"Importantly it will also provide back-up potable water supply for the Proserpine area, and increase access and capacity for our firefighters in emergencies."
Council’s Chief Operating Officer Whitsunday Water, Troy Pettiford said the new reservoir project was part of a larger staged water infrastructure improvement plan, which included the recent installation of an 8.8km pipeline built from the Proserpine Water Treatment Plan to Airlie Beach.
“This pipeline will be serviced by a new booster pump facility and a 2.5km raw water main linking bore sites to the Proserpine plant.
"There was no use building the two reservoirs without undertaking the pipeline upgrade project to support it," Mr Pettiford said.
"This whole project will tie together perfectly with the pipeline upgrades and increase water supply to the whole Airlie Beach region”.
"However, in times of emergency such as bushfires and cyclones, because the reservoir is 100m up, the pressure is sufficient enough to back feed water to Proserpine and supply water services there."
The Cannon Valley Reservoirs created over 20 local jobs during its construction period. Projections support an increase of over 700 full time jobs through increased water capacity which will in turn allow for regional growth.
“An increased water supply in the region allows for growth across all sectors; residential, commercial, and industrial,” Mayor Hall said.
This project is co-funded by the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund.
For media enquiries, contact:
Hannah Fuzier, Communications Officer
07 4945 0244 or Email: communications@whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au