Traveston Crossing Dam
Encyclopedia
Traveston Crossing Dam was a proposed water project that was initiated by the government of Queensland
, Australia
, in 2006 as a result of a prolonged drought situation which saw South-East Queensland's dam catchment area receive record-low rain. The project was cancelled in November 2009, after being refused approval by federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett
.
The dam was proposed to stretch from the Traveston Crossing Bridge near Amamoor
, 160 km north of Brisbane
, south and affect the areas surrounding Bergins Pocket and Kandanga. The dam would have affected major transport arteries through the area, including the North Coast Railway Line
and the Bruce Highway
.
The planned damming of the Springfeild shopping centre was not a popular idea with local residents who would have been directly affected by its construction, nor for the wider national and international community concerned about the impact on the many endangered and vulnerable species living in the river. There was strong opposition to the dam from the wider and international community based on environmental concerns related to the endangered Mary River Cod
, Mary River Turtle
, Giant Barred Frog
, Cascade Tree Frog, Coxen's Fig Parrot, the vulnerable Queensland lungfish
, Tusked Frog, Honey Blue-eyed Fish, the Richmond Birdwin Butterfly and the Illidge's Ant-blue Butterfly. There were also fears for the Dugong, a globally vulnerable species. It was alleged that reduced fresh water flows to the Great Sandy Straight would have affected the growth of seagrass, the Dugong's primary food source..
The Mary River Turtle and the Queensland Lungfish attracted particular attention regarding their conservation. The Mary River Turtle, whose only known home is the Mary River, is a cloacal ventilator ('bum breather' - it uses oxygen from water taken in through its tail), and is listed in the top 25 most endangered turtle species in the world. The Lungfish also has great significance to evolutionary biologists. It requires the rapids in order to breed, and much of its breeding habitat had already been interrupted by other dams in Queensland. Professor Jean Joss of Macquarie University stated, in a submission to the Senate Inquiry 2007: "The Mary River dam would almost certainly push the lungfish to 'Critically Endangered,' and in the long term will lead to its extinction in the wild." The Mary River Cod, which only lives naturally in the Mary River system, is already Critically Endangered. It is completely protected, and it is illegal to fish them.
Some believed that it was necessary to create more jobs in the area and to enhance South East Queensland's water security; however many others in the Gympie business community believed they would have their jobs destroyed, with many industries badly affected, particularly industries such as dairy farming. People in the farming industries in the area, who would have lost their farms with the construction of the dam, considered the area to be amongst the best food-producing land in Australia. Fishermen in the Tin Can Bay area relying on flows into the Great Sandy Straight were also concerned about the environmental impact of reduced flows to their area on the sustainability of their region and industry. Farmers downstream from the dam believed the dam would have had a devastating economic impact. Chairman of the Greater Mary Association, Darryl Stewart, stated: "Estimated annual economic downturn in the downstream communities could be around $500 million, especially affecting agriculture, fishing and tourism. And there would be serious social consequences. The downstream effects of this proposed dam will be far worse than the effects in the dam footprint."
The Mary River flows into the Great Sandy Strait, near wetlands of international significance recognised by the International agreement of the Ramsar convention and Fraser Island World Heritage Area, which attracts thousands of visitors every year.
In 2007, the Federal Government of Australia held a Senate Inquiry on the issue. In November 2008 the Federal Senate passed a non-binding motion seeking to permanently stop the dam's construction.
Fraser Island Defenders Organisation, John Sinclair, stated, "The dramatic reduction and almost total blockage of environmental flow into this most significant estuary will heavily impact on these very sensitive aspects of marine ecology."
The Australian Conservation Foundation
campaigned for the protection of species such as the unique Mary River Turtle, The Queensland Lungfish and the Mary River Cod.
The Gubbi Gubbi Aboriginal people
, whose land would have been affected by the dam, were offered an agreement by the Queensland government worth more than $1 million, which the Gubbi Gubbi people flatly refused. Regarding the Mary River Dam Dr Eve Fesl stated, “We said we would have nothing to do with it. We’re not going to sign away our history, our culture, the Mary Valley. No way,” and, “They couldn’t give a damn about the Mary River. They saw the dollar signs and they wet their pants,” she said. She also stated, "Our whole history and culture will be washed out if that dam is built. But not only that, a number of threatened species could be wiped out.”
Greens Senator Bob Brown
said, "the dam should be opposed because it would flood thousands of hectares of prime food-producing land near Brisbane, Aboriginal heritage sites and the main nursery for the world famous Australian Lungfish. I've told the minister there is no way he should allow the major breeding ground for the Queensland Lungfish or the Mary River Turtle, or Mary River Cod, to be obliterated." "If the rest of Australia knew what damage was being proposed on the Mary River, they would stand up and stop this dreadful dam!"
Sunshine Coast Government MPs and environmentalists "called on the State Government to scrap the Traveston Dam after it yesterday revealed plans for desalination plants at Marcoola, Kawana and Bribie Island." Sunshine Coast Regional Council Mayor Bob Abbot "told thedaily.com.au the announcement confirmed what the Mary River council of mayors had been saying more than a year ago - that the Traveston Dam should be scrapped - and that alternatives such as desalination properly explored." Fiona Simpson stated, "this strategy and the Water Commissioner
’s comments left no doubt that the Traveston Dam was a political decision and desalination was a better and more reliable option."
A University of Technology, Sydney
report stated that "the proposed Traveston Dam near Gympie could pump up to 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere each year" and “even desalination, itself a last resort in a severe drought, would result in fewer emissions at 280,000 to 350,000 (annual tonnes) to yield the same quantity of water".
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, "Eighty five per cent of Brisbane residents agree 'the Queensland Government should consider alternatives to building Traveston Dam' according to a poll released by the Australian Conservation Foundation".
The independent expert Associate Professor Keith Walker says that the mitigation and offset strategies such as the Freshwater Species Conservation Centre were inadequate, risky and ill-defined and that the proposed fish and turtle ladders were unproven.
Don't Murray the Mary Environmental campaigner Steve Posselt, who protested the dam by kayaking 861 kilometres to raise awareness of the environmental impact of damming the Mary River, stated that "Traveston Crossing Dam will be less than 2m deep over a great percentage of its area. Evaporation is somewhere between 1.5 and 2m per annum. Wivenhoe Dam
is not a deep dam and suffers similarly from significant greenhouse gas generation. The longer the water level is low between fills, the more vegetation regeneration occurs. There is no escaping the fact that on an average annual basis large volumes of methane are produced when this vegetation rots. Methane is more than twenty times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than CO2."
The Great Sandy Strait
depends on the Mary River to sustain its complex ecosystem. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is also of huge significance to Aboriginal Australian history. The Great Sandy Strait lies between the western fringes of World Heritage Listed Fraser Island and the south-east Queensland coast. Most of its eastern side is within the World Heritage Area and its beauty and unique ecology attract thousands of tourists annually. It is listed under the Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Significance and is also one of Australia’s most important nesting sites for migratory trans-equatorial shorebirds.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in 2006 as a result of a prolonged drought situation which saw South-East Queensland's dam catchment area receive record-low rain. The project was cancelled in November 2009, after being refused approval by federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
.
The dam was proposed to stretch from the Traveston Crossing Bridge near Amamoor
Amamoor, Queensland
Amamoor is a town in the Sunshine Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. It is one of a chain of towns in the Mary Valley also including Imbil, Dagun, and Kandanga.-References:*http://www.about-australia.com/queensland/sunshine-coast/destinations/amamoor/...
, 160 km north of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, south and affect the areas surrounding Bergins Pocket and Kandanga. The dam would have affected major transport arteries through the area, including the North Coast Railway Line
North Coast railway line, Queensland
The North Coast railway line is a narrow gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It runs from Brisbane, along the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton...
and the Bruce Highway
Bruce Highway
The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is a part of the Australian National Highway and also part of Highway 1...
.
The planned damming of the Springfeild shopping centre was not a popular idea with local residents who would have been directly affected by its construction, nor for the wider national and international community concerned about the impact on the many endangered and vulnerable species living in the river. There was strong opposition to the dam from the wider and international community based on environmental concerns related to the endangered Mary River Cod
Mary River cod
Mary River cod are a Maccullochella cod found in the coastal Mary River system of southern Queensland, Australia...
, Mary River Turtle
Mary River Turtle
The Mary River turtle, Elusor macrurus, is an endangered short-necked turtle that inhabits the Mary River in South-East Queensland, Australia. In the 1960s and 1970s, they were popular as pets in Australia, with about 15,000 sent to shops every year during a ten-year period. They were originally...
, Giant Barred Frog
Giant Barred Frog
The Giant Barred Frog, Mixophyes iteratus, is a species of barred frogs in Australia. It occurs from south-east Queensland to just south of the Newcastle region in New South Wales...
, Cascade Tree Frog, Coxen's Fig Parrot, the vulnerable Queensland lungfish
Queensland Lungfish
The Queensland lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri is the sole surviving member of the family Ceratodontidae and order Ceratodontiformes. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world...
, Tusked Frog, Honey Blue-eyed Fish, the Richmond Birdwin Butterfly and the Illidge's Ant-blue Butterfly. There were also fears for the Dugong, a globally vulnerable species. It was alleged that reduced fresh water flows to the Great Sandy Straight would have affected the growth of seagrass, the Dugong's primary food source..
The Mary River Turtle and the Queensland Lungfish attracted particular attention regarding their conservation. The Mary River Turtle, whose only known home is the Mary River, is a cloacal ventilator ('bum breather' - it uses oxygen from water taken in through its tail), and is listed in the top 25 most endangered turtle species in the world. The Lungfish also has great significance to evolutionary biologists. It requires the rapids in order to breed, and much of its breeding habitat had already been interrupted by other dams in Queensland. Professor Jean Joss of Macquarie University stated, in a submission to the Senate Inquiry 2007: "The Mary River dam would almost certainly push the lungfish to 'Critically Endangered,' and in the long term will lead to its extinction in the wild." The Mary River Cod, which only lives naturally in the Mary River system, is already Critically Endangered. It is completely protected, and it is illegal to fish them.
Some believed that it was necessary to create more jobs in the area and to enhance South East Queensland's water security; however many others in the Gympie business community believed they would have their jobs destroyed, with many industries badly affected, particularly industries such as dairy farming. People in the farming industries in the area, who would have lost their farms with the construction of the dam, considered the area to be amongst the best food-producing land in Australia. Fishermen in the Tin Can Bay area relying on flows into the Great Sandy Straight were also concerned about the environmental impact of reduced flows to their area on the sustainability of their region and industry. Farmers downstream from the dam believed the dam would have had a devastating economic impact. Chairman of the Greater Mary Association, Darryl Stewart, stated: "Estimated annual economic downturn in the downstream communities could be around $500 million, especially affecting agriculture, fishing and tourism. And there would be serious social consequences. The downstream effects of this proposed dam will be far worse than the effects in the dam footprint."
The Mary River flows into the Great Sandy Strait, near wetlands of international significance recognised by the International agreement of the Ramsar convention and Fraser Island World Heritage Area, which attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Construction delays
Other than road building, dam construction did not go ahead while Commonwealth approval was still pending. Construction of the dam was delayed by four years.In 2007, the Federal Government of Australia held a Senate Inquiry on the issue. In November 2008 the Federal Senate passed a non-binding motion seeking to permanently stop the dam's construction.
Opposition to the dam
The proposed dam aroused opposition from many groups and organisations, from local farmers and fisherman to environmentalists and politicians (both nationally and internationally).Fraser Island Defenders Organisation, John Sinclair, stated, "The dramatic reduction and almost total blockage of environmental flow into this most significant estuary will heavily impact on these very sensitive aspects of marine ecology."
The Australian Conservation Foundation
Australian Conservation Foundation
The Australian Conservation Foundation is an Australian non-profit, community-based environmental organisation focused on advocacy, policy research and community outreach.-History:...
campaigned for the protection of species such as the unique Mary River Turtle, The Queensland Lungfish and the Mary River Cod.
The Gubbi Gubbi Aboriginal people
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, whose land would have been affected by the dam, were offered an agreement by the Queensland government worth more than $1 million, which the Gubbi Gubbi people flatly refused. Regarding the Mary River Dam Dr Eve Fesl stated, “We said we would have nothing to do with it. We’re not going to sign away our history, our culture, the Mary Valley. No way,” and, “They couldn’t give a damn about the Mary River. They saw the dollar signs and they wet their pants,” she said. She also stated, "Our whole history and culture will be washed out if that dam is built. But not only that, a number of threatened species could be wiped out.”
Greens Senator Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
said, "the dam should be opposed because it would flood thousands of hectares of prime food-producing land near Brisbane, Aboriginal heritage sites and the main nursery for the world famous Australian Lungfish. I've told the minister there is no way he should allow the major breeding ground for the Queensland Lungfish or the Mary River Turtle, or Mary River Cod, to be obliterated." "If the rest of Australia knew what damage was being proposed on the Mary River, they would stand up and stop this dreadful dam!"
Sunshine Coast Government MPs and environmentalists "called on the State Government to scrap the Traveston Dam after it yesterday revealed plans for desalination plants at Marcoola, Kawana and Bribie Island." Sunshine Coast Regional Council Mayor Bob Abbot "told thedaily.com.au the announcement confirmed what the Mary River council of mayors had been saying more than a year ago - that the Traveston Dam should be scrapped - and that alternatives such as desalination properly explored." Fiona Simpson stated, "this strategy and the Water Commissioner
Queensland Water Commission
The Queensland Water Commission is a Queensland Government agency established to develop long term water supply strategies. The Commission is chaired by Mary Boydell and the current chief executive officer is John Bradley....
’s comments left no doubt that the Traveston Dam was a political decision and desalination was a better and more reliable option."
A University of Technology, Sydney
University of Technology, Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1981, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. UTS is notable for its central location as the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney CBD...
report stated that "the proposed Traveston Dam near Gympie could pump up to 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere each year" and “even desalination, itself a last resort in a severe drought, would result in fewer emissions at 280,000 to 350,000 (annual tonnes) to yield the same quantity of water".
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, "Eighty five per cent of Brisbane residents agree 'the Queensland Government should consider alternatives to building Traveston Dam' according to a poll released by the Australian Conservation Foundation".
The independent expert Associate Professor Keith Walker says that the mitigation and offset strategies such as the Freshwater Species Conservation Centre were inadequate, risky and ill-defined and that the proposed fish and turtle ladders were unproven.
Don't Murray the Mary Environmental campaigner Steve Posselt, who protested the dam by kayaking 861 kilometres to raise awareness of the environmental impact of damming the Mary River, stated that "Traveston Crossing Dam will be less than 2m deep over a great percentage of its area. Evaporation is somewhere between 1.5 and 2m per annum. Wivenhoe Dam
Wivenhoe Dam
Wivenhoe Dam is a dam across the Brisbane River a little way upstream from Locker Creek. The dam creates the artificial Lake Wivenhoe. The dam wall is located about by road from the centre of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....
is not a deep dam and suffers similarly from significant greenhouse gas generation. The longer the water level is low between fills, the more vegetation regeneration occurs. There is no escaping the fact that on an average annual basis large volumes of methane are produced when this vegetation rots. Methane is more than twenty times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than CO2."
The Great Sandy Strait
Great Sandy Strait
The Great Sandy Strait is an 70 km Australian sand passage estuary separating mainland Queensland, from World Heritage listed Fraser Island.-Description:...
depends on the Mary River to sustain its complex ecosystem. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is also of huge significance to Aboriginal Australian history. The Great Sandy Strait lies between the western fringes of World Heritage Listed Fraser Island and the south-east Queensland coast. Most of its eastern side is within the World Heritage Area and its beauty and unique ecology attract thousands of tourists annually. It is listed under the Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Significance and is also one of Australia’s most important nesting sites for migratory trans-equatorial shorebirds.