General News
1 May, 2023
Stuart Mill community rally to save Teddington Reservoir
The Stuart Mill community are fighting to save a popular camping destination and local water source after Parks Victoria listed the Upper Teddington Reservoir for decommission. Built around 130 years ago, the Upper Teddington Reservoir has been...
The Stuart Mill community are fighting to save a popular camping destination and local water source after Parks Victoria listed the Upper Teddington Reservoir for decommission.
Built around 130 years ago, the Upper Teddington Reservoir has been a popular recreational camping destination for locals and visitors to the region alike, however this could change with the reservoir to be decommissioned due to safety concerns and a lack of funding.
Parks Victoria have said their primary focus is to mitigate risk and ensure safety at the facility, with funding included in the Victorian Government’s State Budget allocated for the three-year decommission project.
According to Parks, a project manager is undertaking assessments that will progress the project, with the government department to continue engaging with the community.
“The priority focus for Parks Victoria is on managing the risk posed by the aging infrastructure of the reservoir and ensuring the safety of visitors and the community,” a Parks Victoria spokesperson said.
Parks Victoria’s decision has caused backlash in the community, with residents arguing there’s been a lack of consultation around the closure.
President of Stuart Mill Water Inc and lifelong Stuart Mill resident Danny Lloyd described the reservoir as a lifeline for the town and said if decommissioned, it would impact locals and visitors.
“Upper Teddington is a really popular fishing and camping destination and it would be terrible to see it be lessened in any way,” he said.
“Parks won’t say the extent of the decommission so we don’t know what it means in terms of water levels or access.
“It’s a terrible thing to think it could actually be decommissioned, it’s been there all this time and hurt no one — it baffles belief really.”
Mr Lloyd said there’s been little consultation with the community from Parks Victoria about their decision.
“It’s terrible to think it’s gone this far without basically any input from anyone,” he said.
“There was initial consultation done and we were told we’d be updated moving forward, but the next update we received was to let us know the reservoir would be decommissioned,” he said.
“At an information session held some months ago we asked why they don’t just fix it and we were told the cost to decommission the res was $1.9 million and to reinstate and repair it would cost $2.2 million.
“They’re talking of a $300,000 variation which is a lot of money to me, but to a government department it’s nothing.”
The Upper Teddington Reservoir sits in the Kara Kara National Park, around 40 minutes from Maryborough.
While Stuart Mill Water Inc do draw water from the reservoir when the Lower Teddington Reservoir — which is community managed — runs low, Mr Lloyd said if the upper reservoir is decommissioned it would have a wide-reaching impact.
“Our family has been here for as long as the reservoir has been here and there are quite a few families that are the same,” he said.
“Yes, my interest in the reservoir is because I’m a local but you can go up there anytime you want and there will be people from all over Australia — you can find people from Perth, Tasmania and everywhere in between and these people will miss out as a result of this.
“I reckon the best part about the reservoir is that you could be the wealthiest person in Australia or you could have little and the experiences you’ll have will be the exact same — it segregates no one.”
Mr Lloyd acknowledged the community effort is “behind the eight ball” with Parks Victoria already making their decision, but he’s hopeful it will be reversed.
“We are sort of behind the eight ball now because the reservoir is in the decommissioning phase,” he said.
“The only thing we can really pin some hope to is that the government moves slow, so time might be on our side to get them to review their decision.
“I am hopeful we can get them to reverse their decision.”
The push to keep the reservoir open is seeing a growing support base, with hundreds joining the Upper Teddington Community Forum on Facebook.
Support is also coming from VRFish, the state’s peak recreational fishing body, who are advocating to Parks Victoria to reconsider.
“The lack of consultation is disappointing, though not surprising,” VRFish executive officer Ben Scullin said.
“VRFish will advocate for the management of Upper Teddington to be placed in the right hands and that funding is available for continued use of this fantastic fishing and camping gem.”