Rookwood Weir Project – FAQ

The construction of Rookwood Weir will capture valuable water in the lower Fitzroy River, which will enable landholders to transition to higher value agricultural land use, facilitate new industrial business opportunities and provide future water security for the region.

The project will require the construction of a new bridge upstream of the weir at Riverslea, plus upgrades to Thirsty Creek Road and the Capricorn Highway intersection at Gogango to ensure the local road network can safely manage weir construction traffic.

Rookwood Weir will be located in the lower Fitzroy River, 66 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton.

The Queensland and Australian governments have each contributed $183.6 million to the total project budget with Sunwater funding the remainder.

Upon completion, Rookwood Weir will be the largest weir operated by Sunwater in regional Queensland.

Subject to final design, the weir’s full supply volume will be 74,325 megalitres (ML) and will yield up to an estimated 86,000 ML of medium priority water – subject to final design.

The Rookwood Weir project will provide water security for urban water supply to Livingston Shire Council and Gladstone Water Authority Board, plus stimulate economic growth through high-value irrigated agriculture and industrial business opportunities. The majority of the water will be available through the purchase of a water allocation for agricultural use through a water tender process.

Early works commenced in late 2020 with major in-river construction commencing in April 2021. Construction is expected to take up to three years to complete (subject to approvals and weather permitting).

The design and construction of the weir is being managed by:
• Sunwater – construction authority, operator and water marketer
• GHD – designer
• ACCIONA and McCosker Contracting – constructor.

The original Rookwood Weir proposal was for a gated structure that was significantly more expensive to build than first estimated.

To achieve maximum water yield and deliver the project within the $352.2 million budget, a decision was made in August 2019 to change the design from a gated to an ungated structure. 

The following design requirements had to be managed with the budget available:

• improved design structural integrity (hydraulic modelling)
• the size and complexity of the fish locks, resulting in additional structural requirements (35 per cent more concrete)
• EIS and environmental offset costs.

Following a detailed assessment into the impact of a raising on project costs, yield, timeframe, and the approvals process, a decision was made in March 2021 to raise the height of Rookwood Weir by 0.7 metres (45.5 metres RL to 46.2 metres RL).

The increased weir height provides the opportunity to enhance the long-term benefits for the community by supplying more water for agricultural expansion.
The 0.7 metre raising will yield an additional 10,000 ML of medium priority water. Depending on the final mix of available water, the weir will now yield up to 86,000 ML of medium priority water.
The additional cost to raise the weir is estimated at $12 million.
The weir height change will not impact the project’s compliance with the Fitzroy Basin water plan or the delivery timeframe of the project, with the first water from the weir to be available in 2023.

The Queensland Government will own the weir for up to five years post-construction. During this time, the weir will be operated and maintained by Sunwater. At the completion of this period, the weir will be transferred to Sunwater’s ownership.

Both the Queensland and Australian governments have committed to fund the project and Sunwater is the State entity responsible for the construction and operation of the weir as well as marketing and sales of the water.

Sunwater immediately commenced preparatory activities for the Rookwood Weir project when it was appointed construction authority, marketer and operator by the Queensland Government in July 2018. This included establishing a dedicated project team.

A number of road upgrades to enable construction of the weir are underway, including the Capricorn Highway intersection upgrade at Gogango and the upgrade at Thirsty Creek Road. The Riverslea Bridge upgrade is expected to be completed in mid-2021.

Land and environmental approvals are progressing, while a request for Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) extension has been submitted and approved. A revised Social Impact Assessment was submitted to the Coordinator-General’s office in early May 2020 for approval before works commence.

Sunwater entered into the alliance for the main weir package in September 2020 and early works commenced in late 2020.

Construction is expected to be completed and weir commissioned and operational by end of 2023.

While the final yield of water available from the weir is yet to be determined (estimated to be up to 86,000ML MP), no matter the outcome, the majority will be for local landholders and agriculture.

That said however, one of the key considerations and justifications for building the weir was to provide water security to the region (including Gladstone). The Gladstone Area Water Board made a commitment to take water from the weir to supplement its supplies from Awoonga Dam and improve the reliability of water supply to the people and industries in the Gladstone region. The project was given the green light to proceed based on this commitment.

Sunwater, as the construction authority, is building Rookwood Weir to capture valuable water from the Fitzroy River for region. Any associated pipeline infrastructure is not within the scope of the project. The Gladstone Area Water Board is progressing work on the water delivery pipeline from the Fitzroy River to Gladstone.