BINGARA resident Alec Lucke was deeply concerned by his town’s biggest asset, the Gwydir River, being constantly devalued by cold water pollution from Copeton Dam water releases. He said it was a constant experience in the river since the dam’s construction in 1976, but now there is a solution, and he has called for a timeline for installation of a cold water curtain at Copeton to rectify the situation.
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“The Gwydir River suffers to an extraordinary amount from cold water pollution,” Mr Lucke said.
“When water is released for irrigation purposes from Copeton Dam, it is released from the bottom of the dam and comes out at something like 10-12 degrees Celsius.
“Things like Yellow Belly and Murray cod require something like 20 degrees to spawn, so fish don’t thrive in that environment, and various other food sources are similarly affected.”
Mr Lucke said cold water pollution is a problem with all 22 NSW dams. In June 2014, WaterNSW constructed a $4 million, world-first cold water curtain at the Burrendong Dam, 30 kilometres east of Wellington.
The curtain is a floating temperature control structure around the dam’s intake tower that allows warmer, oxygen rich surface water to be released downstream through the outlet. It sits just below the water level and moves up and down with the water level.
NSW Office of Environment and Heritage senior wetland and rivers conservation officer Tim Hosking said the ecosystem response to the curtain may be muted in the first year or two, but the effects over three to five years should be significant.
“The whole ecosystem will benefit, from macro-invertebrates to the yabbies, shrimp, platypuses, native fish, turtles and waterbirds,” Mr Hosking said. Mr Lucke said until the curtain at Burrendong was constructed, there was no solution to the problem, and communities had come to accept the situation.
“In view of the success of the curtain at Burrendong Dam, what we need from the government now is a commitment,” he said. “Copeton’s walls are very high, and when it’s full, it is the second worst polluter in the state.”
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said he would be in favour of cold water curtains for Copeton and Pindari dams if the research demonstrated proven benefits.
