20 Feb 2023
Flinders Island water secure for generations to come
Today the Henderson Dam at Whitemark on Flinders Island was formally opened.
The event took place in the presence of The Premier the Hon. Jeremy Rockliff, Deputy Premier the Hon. Michael Ferguson, Flinders Island Mayor Rachel Summers, TasWater Chair Dr. Stephen Gumley AO, TasWater Board Members, TasWater Chief Executive Officer George Theo, and other dignitaries from local and state government.
Completed in 2022, the project provides the residents of Flinders Island with drinking water security for generations to come. TasWater increased the amount of bulk water storage by raising the height of the dam, more than doubling its storage volume from 40 megalitres (ML) to 92 ML.
To maintain the water supply while the dam was empty during construction, a temporary reverse osmosis water treatment plant was installed at Lady Barron; an above-ground temporary raw water storage dam was constructed alongside South Pats River, and a schedule of water carting between the two facilities was put in place.
This major infrastructure project represents a $17 million investment by TasWater in the Flinders Island community, and forms part of the TasWater $1.1 billion Capital Works Program across the next four years in all regions of Tasmania.