After years of drought, heavy rains in North Queensland have pushed the Peter Faust Dam near Proserpine to spill for the first time in over two decades, securing several years of water supply for the region.
Video Script:
NEWS24 PRESENTER JOE O’BRIEN: The floods have brought destruction from many communities across Queensland, but on the positive side, many water storages are full.
The Peter Faust Dam near Proserpine in North Queensland, has spilled for the first time since it was built in 1990. Water suppliers are saying there are now at least three to five years of guaranteed water supply for the Proserpine Valley.
This report from ABC Rural’s Mackay reporter Nicky Redl.
(sound of water)
NICKY REDL: Widespread flooding is causing massive destruction across Queensland, but it is also filling up the state’s dams. In Northern Queensland near Proserpine, the Peter Faust Dam with a capacity of nearly 490 gigaliters has spilled for the first time. Each day, nearly 800 megaliters are running over the spillway into the Proserpine river.
Colin Bendall from water supplier Sunwater says the dam has ten times as much water in it than three years ago.
It got down to 10 percent in 2007 and things got quite drastic for the community, so it’s fantastic to see it full now. It looks like we have at least three to five years of guaranteed water supply for the Proserpine Valley… (continues)
Backstory: As no professional video cameras were available to rural radio reporters at the time, I shot this video on my small Canon point-and-shoot (with video function) on a tripod, recorded the audio separately on a Marantz, and later synced the two in Premier.
Broadcast on ABC television channel News24 on January 3, 2011.
Story on ABC News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2011-01-03/northern-queensland-dam-spills-after-heavy-rain/6192010