Member for Calare Andrew Gee has backed calls for more dams in the Central West but says putting one at Dixons Long Point is "unrealistic".
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Councillors John O'Neill and Paul Cavalier floated the idea at the Mid-Western Regional Council meeting last week and said a new dam at Dixons Long Point would serve as a much-needed back-up water supply for Burrendong Dam.
Mr Gee said he shared the community's appetite for improved water storage but building a dam at Dixons Long Point, between Orange and Mudgee, would stall work on a road to link the two regions.
"I think in principle a dam would be good but I think realistically it's going to be difficult to get the road up and running in this term of government if you want a dam there as well," Mr Gee said.
"Whilst a dam would be good I think the priority needs to be to get the road build and get the money out the door."
CHECK OUT WHERE DIXONS LONG POINT IS ON THE MAP
Mr Gee said the approval process for new dams takes years and years and "we've waited long enough for this road and I've fought long and hard for it".
"We've got money here on the ground right now and I think need to get the money out the door and the road built," Mr Gee added.
Cr O'Neill said the billions of dollars governments were currently spending on water and on farm subsidies are all band aid solutions and something more concrete needed to be done to shore up our region's water supply.
I agree totally with what's been said but ... we can keep punching away, I tell you, but we're 100-1.
- Mid-Western Regional Council mayor Des Kennedy on the potential of a new dam at Dixons Long Point.
"You know, we need to look at a long-term solution," he said.
"I think we need to really push both state and federal governments now to start being bloody serious about getting water infrastructure in place, not just spending billions and billions of dollars on subsidies, waiting for a drought to come along,"
Mid-Western Regional Council mayor Des Kennedy backed the notice of motion to support the construction of a dam at Dixons Long Point but conceded the idea might be a pipe dream.
"I agree totally with what's been said but ... we can keep punching away, I tell you, but we're 100-1," Cr Kennedy said.
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Mr Gee said Calare has waiting 160 years for a road connecting Orange and Mudgee and he didn't want the community to wait any longer.
"That particular site, where we're going to build that particular road, it's unrealistic," he said looking at the potential for a new dam.
He highlighted Lake Rowlands as a better option.
"Our priority has to be the road and the bridge," Mr Gee added.