Wilcannia Weir Replacement
Wilcannia Weir Replacement
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 announcement to replace the weir at a new site location that was supported and agreed upon by the community during previous investigations and consultation by DPIE, 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 to the construction phase by the end of 2021, subject to receiving environmental approvals.
Benefits
The new weir aims to deliver 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 development of the project are being held at key milestones. Regular updates to the community via newsletter, factsheets, newspaper and radio are being made available. See the links below.
Community engagement
Graduations
Project schedule
The Weir project is continuing and WaterNSW is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement which involves 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 stakeholders.
The estimated timeline for the project is as follows:
- State and Federal Government joint funding announcement - November 2018
- Completion of Final Business Case by Department of Planning Industry and Environment - June 2019
- WaterNSW engaged to design the new Weir - September 2019
- Environmental Planning Approval – July 2021 to December 2021
- Capital Project plan endorsement to commence construction planning activities - July 2021
- Construction starts – December 2021, subject to receiving environmental approvals.
- Construction complete – Mid-2022
Project updates
- Project Update - February 2021 (PDF 2.0 MB)
- Project Update - November 2020 (PDF 2.0 MB)
- 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)
Media articles
TAFE training in Construction, Hospitality and Tourism at the Wilcannia campus continues in 2021 - REDI.E, 30 March 2021
Collaborative training program providing Wilcannia locals with a pathway to employment - TAFE NSW Wilcannia, March 2021
Local artwork to be integrated into weir in Wilcannia - Maari-Ma Community Newsletter , January 2021
REDI.E Trains Students in Wilcannia Weir Replacement Project - REDI.E, 22 December 2020
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