SURVEY work will be carried out on two local dams this week in an effort to get a better idea of what’s needed to improve their recreational facilities into the future and attract more visitors when water levels are low.
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The NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust will undertake what it calls “ground truthing” to compare its two-dimensional maps with three-dimensional data obtained by touring the dam’s parks – the Inland Waters Holiday Parks at Lake Keepit on Wednesday and the Copeton Waters State Park at Copeton Dam near Inverell on Thursday. It’s also visiting the Lake Glenbawn park near Scone on Tuesday.
Trust chief executive officer Steve Edmonds said the organisation aimed to diversify the recreational facilities at its parks, as visitor numbers significantly dropped off the lower the water levels got at the dams – in the case of Lake Keepit, once it got to about 60 per cent.
Yesterday Copeton was at 17.8 per cent of capacity, while Keepit was at 4.3 per cent.
Mr Edmonds said the future recreational facilities would be non-water-related and may include bushwalking, tree climbing, hiking and obstacle courses.
He said it was critical to get the information about each of the parks in preparation for the master plans that would provide a map for future park development over the next 10 years.
There will be council and stakeholder workshops to review the trust’s initial park concepts.
“Our holiday parks and recreation reserves are for everyone to enjoy, and it is important that we give stakeholders the opportunity to bring their local expertise to the table during the early stages of planning,” he said.
