By Mario Xuereb
THE Liberals will dam the Maribyrnong River at Keilor if elected to government.
Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu confirmed the dam was a central part of his party’s water policy, which is set to be a key issue come November’s election.
The policy commits a Liberal government to constructing the $80 million dam on the Maribyrnong for water supply and flood mitigation purposes.
The dam would be at the junction of Deep and Jackson creeks and expected to provide an additional 17,000 megalitres of water a year for the Sydenham, Bacchus Marsh and Melton area – enough for 90,000 homes.
The Liberal policy said floods on the lower Maribyrnong would be reduced to “nuisance levels.”
If approved, the dam would be the first new water storage facility for Melbourne in 23 years.
Melbourne Water has previously rejected plans to dam the Maribyrnong.
It said the proposal had been reviewed and rejected because a dam would yield only minimal new drinking water.
The State Government is also rejecting the plan, citing Melbourne Water’s advice.
“This is a fundamentally flawed proposal that wrecks the environment of the Maribyrnong River and it doesn’t provide any substantial water in dry periods,” Water Minister John Thwaites said.
“The Maribyrnong is already extremely stretched.
“If you were to take out more water you would destroy the river, and the advice from Melbourne Water is that there is almost no water there anyway to dam.”
The Brimbank City Council previously told Star it was supportive of initiatives to secure water supply, provided they were financially and environmentally sound.
“More efficient water use and initiatives such as storm water harvesting and water recycling are more likely to be solutions to the water crisis,” a council spokesman said.
