Funding for a major Capital Country pipeline is up in the air, a regional council meeting has been told. Photo: sonsam/iStock.
A Capital Country council is facing questions over population predictions and funding availability as it plans for a major investment into Bungendore’s water supply.
For several years, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) has been planning for a pipeline to service the town.
The council’s website lists the estimated cost of investigations as about $2 million, while construction would come with a $108 million price tag.
As part of the project, a new water pump station would be built at Queanbeyan, while the pipeline would draw from a nearby trunk water main of the Queanbeyan supply system.
Meeting papers describe the outcome of an in-progress grant application as “a critical point” for the project.
“Without it, it is unlikely that the project can progress in its current form,” the document states.
“At this stage there is no clear indication as to when any decision on the application may be expected … For the time being there is nothing more to be done on this matter aside from waiting for the outcome of Council’s grant application.”
During a recent meeting, Councillor Bryce Wilson raised his concern that this meant QPRC could potentially face “a massive funding gap” that would affect the project.
“We wouldn’t want to get a situation … where we’re having water charges almost unpayable to pay for this,” he said.
“Both the Commonwealth and the state [governments] are going to have to come to the party — and developers — quite a lot.”
Cr Mark Schweikert insisted loan payments would not be borne by ratepayers.
Instead, he said, the repayments were expected to come from the council’s water fund.
“It’s not going to cost residents anything in interest fees or anything like that at all.”
The proposed water pipeline would run between Queanbeyan and Bungendore. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Cr Katrina Willis also said there was a “lack of clarity” around funding sources for the pipeline, which were expected to be a combination of a loan, developer contributions, the council fund and a grant program.
A staff member replied that finalised water pricing would contribute to a “holistic” view of the pipeline’s cost, with further information to come in 2026.
The meeting also featured a discussion on how the town’s population is expected to change in the coming years.
During the meeting, Cr Willis also said a figure circulating online about thousands of new residents being planned for the town was mentioned by staff during a community meeting.
A staff member clarified further, saying it came from “musing” that the pipeline would have the capacity to service up to 20,000 people.
Cr Bill Waterhouse asked staff about a finding that Braidwood was seeing post-COVID population growth “severely reduced” (compared with what was initially forecast).
“Is that same thing happening in Bungendore? Is there a downward pressure on the numbers that are expected, because of that sort of shift?”
In response, a staff member said they would need to take a more detailed look at the relevant statistics for Bungendore to provide an answer on how the population estimates were tracking.
The meeting also heard that a review of the Bungendore Structure Plan is expected in 2026.
Further information on the proposed pipeline can be found on its project page on the council’s website.
