Park access retained during Copeton upgrade

Relocation of elements of the Copeton Waters State Park as part of the $60 million flood security upgrade is on schedule for completion by Christmas, stakeholders heard at a meeting on Thursday, 26 August 2010.

Around 30 representatives from Inverell and Bingara communities attended the briefing held at Copeton Dam by State Water Corporation.

Copeton Dam Asset Team Leader Duncan Wilson said the park relocation was progressing well and access to the state park would be maintained throughout the entire project.

“Thomas and Coffey Ptd Ltd commenced work to relocate the recreation park in February and are scheduled for completion by December, just in time for the Christmas camping peak,” Mr Wilson said.

“A new water spray park is being built in the recreation park as part of the relocation and should be operational for summer.”

The upgrade is one of eight State Water is undertaking across rural NSW to comply with new regulations on extreme flooding and earthquakes as set by the NSW Dams Safety Committee.

“A new fuse-plug spillway will be constructed here at Copeton to ensure the dam can safely pass more water to withstand an extreme flood.”

The local economy is already benefiting from the upgrade, with subcontractors engaged from local areas for the recreation park relocation.

“Around 40 jobs are expected to be generated by the upgrade, with additional flow-on benefits to the surrounding areas set to continue,” Mr Wilson said.

There will be no increase to storage capacity or outflows from the dam during normal conditions. The upgrade will not affect water releases or the storage level.

Construction on the fuse-plug spillway is scheduled to start early in 2011 and is set for completion late in 2012.

Media contact: Jane Urquhart (02) 6841 2087 0429 449 711