It is the view of the Academy that dams and all other forms of water assets/infrastructure should be considered on their merits, taking into account the full suite of economic, environmental and social factors, and not unduly influenced by short-term political considerations.
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering1 (ATSE) is pleased to respond to the Coalition Dams and Water Management Task Force, noting that you are particularly looking at dams
- As effective forms of water storage for general consumption
- For food production and for environmental flows
- As flood mitigation infrastructure, and
- Their role in low-emission power generation
Summary
The Academy has identified a number of issues that should be taken into consideration by the Task Group before developing policy recommendations:
- The purpose of the dam – the potential problem of conflicting objectives
- Need to have a catchment management plan
- Possible climate change impacts Impact of land use change
- Existing rights Market demand
- Power generation
- Pumping costs
- Variability of supply
- Economics
- Food security
Each of these issues is expanded further in this submission.