Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall announced $1.66 million in State Government funding to install and upgrade a new firefighting water supply system at the Copeton Dam holiday park that will give it a stand-alone, state-of-the-art firefighting capability.
The loan funds will be used to build and install up to 12 kilometres of new water supply lines and mains to service hydrants and fire hose points across the 1,000 hectare grounds of the Copeton Park.
Mr Marshall said the funds would also provide for new storage tanks and plumbing that would directly supply water for firefighting to standpoints at a park that had earned a reputation for being the “Murray Cod capital of inland Australia.”
Mr Marshall’s announcement last October came just as the Copeton Waters State Park was been named the best NSW holiday inland park with more than 100 camping sites.
“That State award for excellence was announced by the Caravan and Camping Industry Association and together with the news of this funding adds kudos to the reputation Copeton Waters has among the industry and the tourists and holidaymakers who visit and stay there,” Mr Marshall said.
“The park, under manager David Allan, is achieving great success and improving and upgrading its facilities progressively, and we’re seeing the results of that in outstanding visitor numbers. It has had a 20 per cent increase in occupancy rates over the past year or so and its winter trade figures have shown a 50 per cent increase in the numbers who go there in the past two years.”
Mr Allan said that the 15-strong park staff team were over the moon with news of the go-ahead for the project on the back of the funding announcement, coupled with the award win.
“We’re all very excited and it’s been a great team effort to achieve what we have”, Mr Allan said.
The park provides some 80 powered sites, 14 cabin and onsite caravan sites, 850 unpowered sites and unlimited bush camping sites.
Mr Marshall said Easter figures this year stood at up to 4,000 people visiting and the Christmas-New Year holiday period brought up to 10,000 campers and visitors to the park.
“The $1.66 million funding will give a huge boost to their business there and will mean a treated water supply management system that is dedicated and specifically for firefighting if needed, separate to the water supply for irrigation and camping and domestic needs in the park,” Mr Marshall said.
He said the park was now seeing about 80,000 people through it a year, not just fishermen and recreational campers but also water sports enthusiasts.
The new water supply infrastructure will service the entire park with between six and eight kilometres of new mains and another three to four kilometres of service lanes to link with hydrants and fire hoses.
“There’s no better place in Australia to target Murray Cod and the metre-plus Murray Cod is a benchmark for fishermen – and absolutely, we have those,” Mr Allan said.
