$18M upgrade to Leslie Harrison Dam completed early
31 May 2019
An $18 million upgrade of
Leslie
Harrison Dam to secure
Redland City’s
water supply has been completed three months ahead of schedule.
“Leslie Harrison Dam provides around 25 per cent of the Redland City
water supply and is an important asset for this growing community,’’
Member for Capalaba Don Brown said.
“This is the first major upgrade of the
dam in more than 30 years and
will enable it to better withstand extreme weather events.
“The dam was built in the 1960s, to ‘60s engineering and safety
standards. Since then there have been significant advances in dam design
and a greater understanding of the impact of extreme weather events.
“When the dam was built, the population of the Redlands was just 12,500
people. Today it is close to 150,000, so it’s great to see the
Palaszczuk Government making this kind of investment in the region’s
water supply,” Mr Brown said.
Natural Resources Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the dam transformed to
meet modern standards in line with
Seqwater’s Dam Improvement Program.
Dr Lynham told State Parliament this morning that the project would
provide 59 fulltime
jobs.
“This is just part of the Palaszczuk Government’s $863 million
commitment to
water infrastructure since December 2017, that has created
1643 jobs for Queenslanders.’’
As part of the upgrade, the dam wall was strengthened and widened to
make it more resilient to extreme floods and extreme events, while the
concrete spillway was anchored into the bedrock to increase resilience.
Seqwater engaged with the community to provide information about the
project and seek feedback on proposed construction traffic routes.
“Following extensive consultation with the local community, we
constructed a temporary ‘military-style’ bridge - similar to those used
globally for humanitarian emergencies - over Tingalpa Creek to allow
site access while keeping the majority of construction traffic off local
streets,” Seqwater CEO Neil Brennan said.
“The temporary bridge also reduced the environmental impacts associated
with the creek crossing and helped carry more than 14,000 loads of
construction materials to the site.’’
The upgrade began in June 2018. Over the next two months Seqwater will
complete restoration works and remove equipment and temporary
infrastructure, including the bridge.
Seqwater will hold community days on June 15-16 for tours of the upgrade
woks. Registrations can be made through the Seqwater website.
Images, including stills, timelapse and drone footage of the dam is available at https://bit.ly/2VBjYXv (external site)
--ENDS--
Source: Queensland Government - www.statements.qld.gov.au
Contact: Media enquiries: David Potter 0428 411 617
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