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HAVE PADDLE BUT NO CREEK ANY MORE!!!
Canoeing WA recognises the importance of water
to the State. We would like to congratulate Jim Gill and his staff
at Water Corporation on the way they are positioning the State to
meet the challenges of the supply of potable water into the future.
We do believe however that with a little fine-tuning
of some policies, the future can be even better than it is looking
now. In particular we are concerned with Water Corporation's policy
of recompense to the community for what they take, as a result of
its water extraction programs.
We would like to be able to work with Water
Corporation to fine-tune this policy.
DID YOU KNOW?
- For the first time, today's new generation
has a shorter life expectancy than their parents!!!
- Cause : physical
inactivity and lifestyle
- Physical inactivity
is a major health and social problem in Australia
- Rivers are major sporting and recreational
resources
- There is great concern in the
northern hemisphere to ensure that the sporting and recreational
resources of their rivers are not lost as part of any dam
construction project
- France requires that the sporting
and recreational resource taken from the community is
compensated for in any dam construction project
- Slovenia has legislated to prohibit
further dam construction
- Australia is beginning to become
concerned
- 7 out of the 10 significant white
water rivers between Perth and Bunbury have been lost to the community
as a result of Water Corporation dam construction.
- The opportunity to recreate, raft, paddle
and body board on these lost rivers has gone
- WA's top junior Slalom paddlers have to
leave WA and move to NSW in order to remain competitive as a result
of the closure of the Harvey International Slalom Course
- There are 7700 registered Friends
of the White Water Park. See www.whitewaterperth.org.au
- Our patron is Fiona Wood, Australian
of the Year
- Benefits of the White Water Park are
recognised by
- The Premier's Physical Activity Task
Force
- The Office of Crime Prevention
- With its adrenalin generating capacity the
White Water Park will be "the home of the drug-free high".
- 15% of Perth people canoe or kayak. (Sweeney
Sports Report 2004/5).
- More than 25,000 people have participated
in the Avon Descent White Water Classic
Canoeing Western Australia believes that
the community is not being adequately recompensed for what it loses
as a result of Water Corporation's water extraction programs.
The sporting and recreational resources
of rivers should not be lost to the community, but compensated for,
as a normal part of Water Corporation's programs.
The proposed White Water Park is part of
the solution.
Have paddle but no creek any more!!!
SPORTING & RECREATIONAL
PADDLING RIVERS LOST DUE TO WATER CORPORATION WATER HARVESTING
As the market research for the White Water
Park indicates the community demand (up
to 300 000 users) for white water for sporting and recreation use
is very considerable.
Since the early 1900s dam building by Water
Corporation or its predecessors has progressively closed rivers available
to the community for paddling as a result of their water harvesting
policies.
The rivers lost as a result of dam building are:
- Helena (Mundaring Dam) 1903
- Canning 1940
- Serpentine 1961
- South Dandalup 1972
- Wungong 1979
- North Dandalup 1994
- Harvey Under threat and closed since
1998
- Collie Under threat
The Blackwood is under threat as a result of
Water Corporation proposals to extract water from the Yarragadee
aquifer in the south west.
Many European countries require dam builders
to compensate the community for loss of white water rivers as a
result of dam construction. The White Water Stadium at Argentiere
in France is one example.
There are records of the community use for
sporting and recreational purposes of all of these rivers other
than the Helena (Mundaring) and the Serpentine. Apart from the Harvey
and the Collie all of these rivers are now permanently lost to the
community for sport and recreation. The Harvey International Slalom
Course was recognised as one of the best natural courses in the
world.
With the Harvey and the Collie Rivers also
likely to be lost Water Corporation needs to recognise the very
serious social and economic impact its dam building program has
had on community sporting and recreational opportunities by providing
significant capital funding to ensure the development of the proposed
white water park.
LOSS OF THE HARVEY
INTERNATIONAL SLALOM COURSE
Access to water for white water canoeing immediately below the Stirling
Dam was formalised in the "Harvey River Basin Surface Water
Allocation Plan" of 1998 which gave Canoeing Western Australia
a water provision for the purpose of white water canoeing.
This water provision for Canoeing WA provided
the means for the Harvey International Slalom Course to operate.
This provided very important social and economic benefits to the
community. These are outlined below.
The Harvey International Slalom Course was
one of the best natural slalom courses in the world and was recognised
as the best in Australia. It was used from 1976 and hosted several
Australian Championships and an international training camp. In
cooperation with Water Corporation and Harvey Irrigation, it was
managed exclusively by Canoeing WA.
Access to this water has been lost for several
years as a result of actions undertaken by Water Corporation.
Canoeing WA is seeking restoration of these
very significant community benefits that currently have been lost.
The loss of the Harvey International Slalom
Course has had a catastrophic impact on slalom canoeing and the
potential for white water recreation in Western Australia. Canoe
Slalom is an Olympic sport and West Australians have been at the
forefront of international competition in this sport.
IMPACT OF THE LOSS
OF THE HARVEY INTERNATIONAL SLALOM COURSE
1. Loss of major events that would be expected to be conducted at
the
- Harvey
International Slalom Course
- National Slalom and Downriver Championships
- World Slalom Cups
- Australian Slalom Team preparation
for 2000 Olympics
- International teams coming to the
Harvey
- International Slalom Course to train
2. Significant decline in the sport of Canoe
Slalom in WA
3. Our best juniors have to move to the Penrith,
NSW, to remain competitive
- Significant family social impact
- Loss of opportunity for WA juniors
- The loss of our elite slalom paddlers
as coaches and role models
4. WA Institute of Sport scholarships to the
sport are downsized when compared with the other Olympic canoeing
sport, Sprint Canoeing
5. Canoeing WA was forced to cancel major events
- Australian Championships
- Australian Team training program
for the Sydney Olympics
6. Potential community loss from the closing
of the facility.
- Loss
of the opportunity for rafting
- Loss of the tourist market
- Market research indicates 24 000
tourists would visit the proposed White Water Park
- In 2002 there were 85 000 visitors
to the area below Wellington Dam - the last similar area left
in the wild
7. Loss of the opportunity for Avon Descent
competitors to develop their white water skills
8. Loss of the opportunity for white water
rescue training
9. Significant economic loss to Canoeing WA
and the local community
10. Redundancy of the infrastructure put in
place by CWA between 1976 and 1998
- Substantial bridge over the river
- 2 landings
- Jetty
- Boardwalk
- 1.5 kilometres
of paths
- 700
metres of underground communication network
- Carpark
- River
features including measures to ensure bank stability
- Removal
of blackberry plants
- Construction of viewing platforms
and judging areas
- Construction of a substantial
covered area
11. Loss of community programs for recreation,
training in the outdoor recreation industry and programs for youth
at risk
12. WA is now unable to participate in major
national slalom development programs such as the Beyond Beijing
program for promising slalom paddlers because we have no suitable
facilities
ELITE WEST AUSTRALIAN
SLALOM PADDLERS HAVE TO MOVE EAST TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE
West Australians currently have to move east to remain internationally
competitive. Over the last four years our three top juniors have
moved to Penrith to continue their training and remain competitive.
All have been selected in Australian Teams.
Two have had particularly impressive success.
Kynan Maley is the current Australian C1 Slalom Champion and came
third in the World Freestyle Championships and Robin Bell came fourth
in the C1 Slalom at the Athens Olympics.
PS: LOST RIVERS
& STEWARDSHIP IN THE USA
The American
Whitewater does some great work restoring and conserving rivers.
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