Queensland Minister for Planning and Infrastructure Stirling Hinchliffe has said that construction of the Wivenhoe pump station for the pipeline, which is expected to deliver water at a rate of 490 litres per second to Cressbrook Dam, is 70 per cent complete.
“Initially the pipeline will have the capacity to transport 14,200 ML/a of water and ultimately, up to 18,000 ML/a of water. We owe a great deal of thanks to the 396 workers who collectively clocked up more than 515,434 hours to install a total of 3,743 pipes and fittings,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
The Wivenhoe pump station will also contain a smaller pump to be placed at the end of a 45 m long jetty suspended over the Wivenhoe Dam to extract water and deliver it over a short distance to the high-lift pump, which is powered by a 1,850 kW motor.
Member for Toowoomba North Kerry Shine said that “The pumps on this pipeline will have to run continuously for 12-18 months to raise the water level in Cressbrook Dam to more than 20 per cent the level, which will offer Toowoomba enough of a buffer in case there is no rain over their catchments.”
The $A187 million pipeline forms a part of the South East Queensland Water Grid, connecting the Wivenhoe Dam near the Esk water extraction tower to Cressbrook Dam, via the Deongwar State Forest.
The project remains on track to be commissioned by January 2010.
