Wilcannia Weir Replacement

Photo from Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

About the project

WaterNSW is designing and constructing a new weir for Wilcannia on behalf of the State and Federal Governments under the Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure program.  $30 million in funding has been provided under the program to replace the weir at a site that was supported and agreed upon by the community during previous investigations and consultation by DPI, Water.

The Wilcannia Weir was constructed in 1942 for the purpose of providing a more reliable town water supply for Wilcannia. Water levels have decreased as a result of development activities since the weir was built, causing the river to be altered and removed from the community of Wilcannia.

The new weir will provide long-term town water supplies to preserve and enhance the social, economic and environmental benefits for Wilcannia, its people and its surrounds.

A dedicated WaterNSW project team has been assembled to undertake the concept design and environmental assessment for the new weir so the project can progress to the detailed design and construction phase by 2020.

Benefits

The new weir will have a range of benefits including:

• Improved water security for Wilcannia
• Enhanced cultural connection to the river
• Improved water management of the weir pool
• Increased tourism opportunities and investment
• Better recreational amenity to walk, swim, picnic and fish
• Improved native fish migration

Community consultation

WaterNSW understands the importance of the river to the community and want to design and construct a weir that meets community needs and expectations and maintains the strong connection people have to the river.

Community drop in sessions, to share information and get feedback on the design are being held at key milestones throughout the project. Regular updates to the community via newsletter, factsheets, newspaper and radio are to be made available.

Project schedule

Due to the restrictions in place for the outbreak of COVID-19 and an updated planning approval process, there are changes to the time frame for the Wilcannia Weir Replacement project. The Weir project is continuing and WaterNSW is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement which will require in depth environmental and cultural heritage assessments and community consultation.

WaterNSW is committed to continued engagement with the Wilcannia community. The project team will communicate via phone, email, video meetings, advertisements, local radio and news. Project updates and flyers are providing information and we will continue to work closely with the community and with a project reference group.

The timeline for the project is as follows:

• Completed Concept Design – October 2020
• Environmental Planning Approval – May 2021
• Detailed design – May 2021
• Site mobilisation – August 2021
• Construction starts – September 2021

Project updates

• Project Initiatives Update - September 2020 (PDF 2.3 MB)
• Project Update - September 2020 (PDF 839.6 KB)
• Project Update - June 2020 (PDF 1.4 MB)
• Project Update - April 2020 (PDF 332.6 KB)
• Project update - December 2019 (PDF 1.8 MB)
• Project update - October 2019 (PDF 400.8 KB)
• Project Fact Sheet - August 2019 (PDF 824.7 KB)

A Baaka Adventure with Gillie

To further support community engagement and awareness of the weir replacement project, a children’s activity booklet A Baaka Adventure with Gillie was developed. The booklet provides educational information on local river life and ecology. Individual booklet pages or a set of 6 combined pages can be downloaded as PDFs from the links below:

• Help Gillie find Barkindji friends - (B/W version)
• Gillie colour, pattern and thakala - (B/W version)
• Baaka life like Gillie - (B/W version)
• Help Gillie colour and count - (B/W version)
• Gillie’s a-maze-ing journey - (B/W version)
• Gillie code breaker - (B/W version)
• Draw and colour at the river with Gillie (A3) - (B/W version)
• Water cycle game with Gillie (A3) - (B/W version)
• River drawing and water cycle  lift out - (B/W version)
• 6 x A4 sheets suite - (B/W version)

Contact details

For more information about the weir replacement email us at WilcanniaWeir@waternsw.com.au or call 1300 662 077.

Project Manager: WaterNSW Asset Delivery Team