Bega to Yellow Pinch water transfer system
Bega Shire, NSW
Total funding: $20.9 million, with $10 million from the Australian Government, $10 million from the Bega Valley Shire Council and approximately $900 000 from the NSW Government's Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage program.
About the project
The Bega to Yellow Pinch pipeline and pumping stations will provide an additional source of water to secure water supplies for the Bega Valley Shire. Currently the Yellow Pinch Dam, which is the main water storage for the southern part of the Bega Valley Shire, is primarily supplied from Tantawanglo Creek. In recent times, the water level in Yellow Pinch Dam has gradually reduced as a result of the decline in water available from Tantawanglo Creek. This project will construct a high lift pump station capable of pumping up to 20 megalitres per day from the lower Bega River and Bega borefields that are fully recharged during high river flows. This water will be conveyed through a 20 kilometre pipeline to Yellow Pinch Dam.
Towns that will benefit from the scheme include Wolumla, Merimbula, Pambula and Candelo. Access to a supplementary water source will enable the Bega Valley Shire Council to extract water from the Tantawanglo Creek during higher flows thereby allowing for greater protection of low flows that are environmentally important to the upper reaches of the catchment.
Project benefits
The project will:
- protect low environmental flows at Tantawanglo Creek by extracting and storing larger volumes of water during high Bega river flows;
- increase security of supply to townships in the south of the Bega Valley Shire through the use of water from the lower Bega River;
- meet Bega's projected water demands until 2045; and
- provide for greater flexibility and availability of water for landholder extraction in the upper catchment.
The project advances the National Water Initiative objective of securing reliable water supplies.
Water Smart Australia projects are funded by the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative.
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