Taking a self-guided virtual tour via drone over the proposed new Dunoon dam is now option.

Rous County Council has just launched an interactive map described as a ‘cutting edge tool’ which will allow the community to have a look at what the future could hold for the drinking water supply catchment.

The new tool presents the story behind Council’s proposed future water project using real satellite maps and detailed graphics.

Rous County Council chair Keith Williams said the interactive ‘map journal’ will help the community better understand its proposed $245 million Future Water Project 2060. 

“It’s a first of its kind and the community can easily navigate to explore project areas and other crucial information more closely,” he said.

Using advanced technology developed by the Queensland University of Technology, the new online tool allows residents to fly a virtual drone over the region’s future bulk water supply system. 

“People can look at the location of the proposed Dunoon Dam through to sites that formed part of our groundwater, recycled water and desalination investigations,” Mr Williams said.

“With the click of a button, residents can take a 360-degree, step-by-step tour of all the new water source options we’ve looked at.

“It is important we embrace new technology like this to make it easier for as many community members as possible to get involved in shaping the future of the drinking water supply network they depend on each day.”

The proposed Future Water Project 2060 is currently on public exhibition until Wednesday, August 12.

The proposal’s preferred option involves two key actions: 

1. Upgrading the existing Marom Creek Water Treatment Plant near Wollongbar and utilising the Alstonville underground aquifer’s existing groundwater infrastructure to meet short-to-medium term water demand; and 

2. Ultimately, constructing the new Dunoon Dam with a storage capacity of 50 gigalitres to meet long-term water demand through to 2060 and beyond. 

Rous County Council general manager Phillip Rudd said numerous other resources were also available on the Future Water Project 2060 webpage.

There, the community can learn more about what the bulk water supply could look like over the next 40 years – including how to provide feedback via one of the available submission methods.

Rous County Council’s virtual drinking water supply catchment tool can be accessed directly here. 

Before deciding whether to officially adopt the Future Water Project 2060, Rous County Councillors will consider a report on the public exhibition period’s outcomes at their meeting scheduled for October 2020.