Residents of Whitemark and Flinders Island now have a secure water resource with the upgrade of the Henderson Dam.
The Henderson Dam provides a critical water supply system and has undergone extensive upgrades to double the dam’s storage volume to ensure those living on Flinders Island have a reliable service for future generations.
Importantly, for Whitemark residents, this water security will significantly reduce the chances of water restrictions during dry spells.
The dam has been supplying water to the island for many years, but it was beginning to show signs of age, the storage capacity was no longer adequate, and its design no longer aligned with best practice.
The upgrades to Henderson Dam have doubled the dam’s storage capacity, substantially increasing the flood capacity.
All major construction work was completed in 2022 and following a decent amount of rainfall, the dam is now filled.
Attending the opening on Flinders Island today, Premier Rockliff and Deputy Premier Ferguson spoke of the strong economic growth on Flinders Island with projects like upgrading the Henderson Dam playing an important role.
“There is no doubt that visitors have been returning to Tasmania – including Flinders Island – in huge numbers, and visitor spending has been at an all-time high,” Premier Rockliff said.
“The indicative results from the Tasmanian Visitor Survey showed a total spend for the 12 months to October 2022 of more than $3 billion – an increase of 23 per cent from the year before and the highest annual spend on record.
“This has been welcoming news for the island’s tourism operators, following the impacts of the pandemic and I look forward to seeing this growth continue.”
Treasurer Michael Ferguson said that the Tasmanian Liberal Government has committed to investing $200 million of equity into TasWater over 10 years.
“This investment supports the delivery of projects like Henderson Dam,” the Treasurer said.
“Tasmanian businesses were contracted throughout the project, providing stimulus to the local employment sector and the State’s economy. An average of 15 field personnel made up the workforce of this project, which contributed to an economic boost for the island.
“Just last week, our State recorded the highest business confidence in the country. As a government, we are committed to seeing this confidence extend to Flinders Island which is continually upgrading infrastructure like the Henderson Dam is so important as it delivers a significant economic boost for the local civil construction sector and its supply chain.”
