Introduction to “The River, the Bay and the Strait” Public Forum

5 October 2008

•Does SEQ need a new dam?

•Estuaries, freshwater & today’s presentations

Where the decision making process is at…

• QWI have provided Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement to Qld Govt

• Now with Queensland Coordinator General• Supplementary EIS was “exposed” to the public • Once Queensland Coordinator General hands

his report to Peter Garrett, the Minister has 30 working days for a decision• Four of seven Matters of National Environmental

Significance (MNES)

• Decision is possible by Christmas??

Does South East Queensland need a new dam?

Reason 1:The water isn’t needed

From 2008 SEQ Water Strategy document

2006 2056

Pre

dict

ion

of W

ater

SE

Q w

ill u

se We are paying for a water surplus

Reason 2: There are better alternatives

• Meet domestic and business water needs with less water (I)

• Reduce water use in power generation: Shift to dry cooling in power stations (II)

• Capture of stormwater eg Orange• Recycling • Desalination (III)• Other methods

Supplementary EIS has not addressed these possibilities adequately

Alternative I: smart approachMeet domestic and business water needs with less water

Elements of proposed program and water saved (Mary Council of

Mayors report, 2007)

• Negative Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Average unit cost: $1.15 per 1000 L

TOTALADDITIONAL

SAVINGS190,000ML/a

Alternative II:expanded DM in the power sector• In SEQ, electricity generation accounts for over

6% of total water consumption• The majority lost as evaporation in cooling towers• Alternative to evaporative cooling -

“Dry Cooling” or “Air Cooling”• Similar concept to car radiator• ~95% reduction in water use

• Savings ~40,000 ML/a • Unit cost ~ $1.08 per 1000 L

Source: Qld Govt Dept. of Energy

Alternative III: Desalination

• This was the main alternative that Queensland Government compared with the dam

• Some things to know: • Energy use assumed by Government is about 34%

higher than Kwinana plant in Perth• Cost is of desal inflated, cost of dam deflated• Greenhouse gas emissions are less than proposed

dam (by up to 190,000 tonnes CO2 per year) • Reliable process that can be operated when needed

• Mary council report recommended desal as a “readiness option”, unit cost approximately $2.39 per 1000 kL

Side by side comparison

Dry cooling (II)

Desal (III)

Dam

Smart approach (I)

Cost(per 1000 L) Reliability

GHG(cars)

Dam has worst social and environmental impacts

$1.15 Very High 142,000 cars off the road

$1.08

$2.39

$3.38

Very high

Low

Very high No estimate available

Up to 50,000 new cars

Up to 71,000 new cars

There is not a shortage of better alternatives

But

a shortage of political will to choose the best options from an economic,

environmental and social point of view.

Photo Nikki Michail South Head of the Mary River

A brief introduction to estuaries, why they need rivers and what to expect

from today’s presentations

Photo Stewart Riddel

What to expect…

• Brief Introduction to estuarine ecology• Role of freshwater• Role of nutrients, salinity etc• Impacts on the plants and animals and their

interactions (food web, behaviours etc)

• Brief summary of QWIPL and Qld Government views

• Explanation of how the presentations today relate to the estuarine and river system

Estuaries & Rivers• Estuaries are the downstream reaches of rivers where

they enter the coastal ocean and are influenced by tidal motions.

• An estuary isn’t an estuary without freshwater flow• Estuaries produce approximately 75% of Queensland’s

seafood• Estuaries are some of the most productive ecosystems on

the planet• We have a lot to learn about how they interact• Great Sandy Strait is unique & internationally significant

So what do QWIPL and Qld Government have to say about this?

Currently, the supplementary EIS says:

• “The Integrated Quantity and Quality Model (IQQM) for the Project has demonstrated the reliability of the system to deliver the legislated requirements of the Mary River WRP.” 

• “overall it is concluded that the dam will not have any substantial impact upon the values of the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar wetland.  The impact is expected to be negligible.”

BUT.. Many important issues not addressed

MO

RN

ING

SE

SS

ION

Sediment

Source: Beach Protection

Authority, 1989

Transport paths ,

sediment source

Mary river

Fraser Island

Continental shelf

AF

TE

RN

OO

N S

ES

SIO

N

Mangroves Seagrass

Dugong

Phyto-plankton

Zoo-plankton

Benthic fish

Fish eating fish

Seabirds

Plant eating fish

Zoo-planktivorou

s fish

Prawns

Crabs

Mud eating fish Green

turtles Benthic Invertebrates

Micro-phyto-benthos

Macro-algae Detritus

Burnett Mary Region Coastal Food web

Adapted from: Gehrke, P.C. 2007. A comparative analysis of coastal fishery food webs in the Great Barrier Reef region. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy

Country National Research Flagship

Whales??

Dolphins

Loggerheadturtles

Key messages from today• The flows from the river play a role that is

complex, intricately balanced. • Application of the precautionary principles

requires the proponent to show they will “not have a significant impact” under the EPBC Act

• Presentations today aim to increase our understanding of this beautiful ecosystem

• With this knowledge our message to Garrett and Bligh will be even stronger

We hope you leave today full of ideas for your own letters to decision makers and full of inspiration to save

the Sandy Strait and the Mary River

Key references

• Peirson, WL., Bishop, K., Van Senden, D., Horton, PR. and Adamantidis, CA., Environmental Water Requirements to Maintain Estuarine Processes (2002), Environmental Flows Initiative Technical Report Number 3, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. (available on internet)

• Beach Protection Authority Queensland (BPA) 1989, Hervey Bay Beaches, Beach Protection Authority, Queensland.

• Gehrke, P.C. 2007. A comparative analysis of coastal fishery food webs in the Great Barrier Reef region. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. (available on internet)