The New South Wales Government has announced the completion of Stage 1 of the Wilcannia Weir project, with details for the location and size of the weir confirmed.
Minister for Water, Property and Housing, Melinda Pavey, said in response to the strong community feedback, the location of the new weir will be approximately 5.2km downstream of the existing weir.
“It will be designed and constructed one metre higher than the existing weir to ensure long-term water security for Wilcannia and to be capable of flow releases for water quality management as required,” Mrs Pavey said.
“In the long term, the new weir will improve river flows and provide recreational and economic opportunities for the community of Wilcannia.”
The project was handed over to WaterNSW in July 2019 to facilitate the rapid delivery of the project.
WaterNSW is now commencing Stage 2 of the project, being the design and environmental assessment works for the project.
Stage 3, or construction of the project, is expected to be underway following the Stage 2 assessment and, as part of the delivery, will provide employment opportunities for the local indigenous community.
“I know the community is eager to get a timeline on when construction will begin, as I am. However it’s important that we get this project right, which is why we have to wait for WaterNSW to do the work to deliver this project and tell us what the thinking will be,” Mrs Pavey said.
“Community consultation is a large part of this work, which is why we are getting on with the job and next week the community will see boots on the ground answering questions on this project.”
NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment and WaterNSW will meet with the Wilcannia community in early July to answer questions on the project.
