CLONCURRY Mayor Andrew Daniels says investment from overseas will not happen this century unless a solution is found to two simple things impeding the North West.
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``The Asian Century will just have to wait till next century, because it will take us that long to get water and power,'' Cr Daniels said after the release of the North West Queensland Strategic Development Study last week.
The study said large-scale water storage infrastructure had historically been provided by the state government allowing the state to ``retain control over these key strategic assets''.
``The return on water storage infrastructure is also often below commercially attractive levels,'' the study stated.
``Capital costs are typically recovered over a long-term timeframe though water allocation user fees.''
The study recommended a funding arrangement could potentially be achieved with federal assistance and/or through the sale of existing infrastructure assets to fund the new water storage developments.
The study identified Cave Hill dam near Cloncurry as a potential dam site.
Cr Daniels says the site on the Cloncurry River, located about 20 kilometres upstream of the township and had been talked about for 40 years.
``Cave Hill dam is a guaranteed water supply,'' Cr Daniels said.
``Once erected, the Cave Hill Dam could service the Cloncurry township, Ernest Henry Mining, CopperChem Great Australia, Cudeco Rocklands Group, MMG Dugald River, as well as attracting development.
``The North West Queensland Mineral Province and our local industry need this. Water is just as important as the exploration of the mineral.
Cr Daniels said Cave Hill dam could potentially store 248GL, which is 2.1 times the size of Lake Julius from which water is now sourced.
sourcing water,'' Cr Daniels said.
Potential for additional water storage
IN THE North West Queensland Strategic Development Study it was recommended in the Regional Water Supply Scoping Analysis there was opportunity to consider water storage options ``in the Gulf Savannah (Green Hills Dam), North West Minerals Province (Cave Hill Dam) and Upper Flinders (O'Connell Creek Storage) regions''.
The estimated cost of Cave Hill Dam was $250 million with storage of 248 gigalitres.
The annual yield could be 172GL at a cost of $2 million per gigalitre.
The study also recommended investigating the ``feasibility and potential of alternative small-medium scale water storage options . . . including Lake Julius expansion''.
