Proposals (cont.)

In August 2001, then Premier, the late Jim Bacon, publicly released the Water Development Plan for Tasmania. This was the first time since the late 1980s that a Government had formally recognised the importance of our water resources. The Meander Dam was identified as a cornerstone of the Water Development Plan, which on completion will be the State´s largest irrigation scheme, with 24,000 megalitres (ML) of water available for irrigation.

Between October 2001 and February 2002, the environmental, engineering, economic and agricultural feasibility of the Meander Dam proposal was assessed in independent, comprehensive studies by Hydro Tasmania Consulting. These feasibility studies formed the basis of the Meander Dam Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan (DPEMP).