That cash for the Williams Valley project makes up more than 40 per cent of Hunter Water’s $62.1 million budget for water-related works.

Funding in last year’s budget (about $33 million) was used for land purchases and some investigation work.

Save the Williams Valley Coalition spokesperson Sally Corbett criticised the allocation of taxpayer money to the project that she described as a “white elephant”.

“This dam hasn’t even been approved and already Hunter residents are having to pay for it,” she said.

According to the dam project manger Nicole Holmes this year’s budget allocation will include land purchases, the finalisation of the Environmental Assessment Report, dam designs, road designs and community consultation.

The “big dollars” that make up the $300 million Tillegra Dam commitment from the State Government will start to filter through with the commencement of construction in 2010, Ms Holmes said.

“There will be things that we’ll be doing onsite earlier than that, such as looking at a couple of bridges on the Williams River and potentially opening the quarry sites for the materials to build the dam,” she said.

Ms Holmes told the Maitland Mercury that Hunter Water would be submitting its Environmental Assessment Report to the Department of Planning in July or August.

“It brings together a significant amount of work that was undertaken in the field, looking at the affects on the environment as a result of the proposal, heritage aspects, both European and indigenous, noise investigations, traffic movements and social and economic impacts,” she said.

“The department will then put that report out for community comment.

“Then what happens is they pull together all the submissions and Hunter Water is asked to comment on them.”

Over the next 12 months Hunter Water will be continuing their investigation process on the Williams Valley site.

“We’ve got a lot of work that’s ongoing to do with the design work for the dam,” Ms Holmes said.

“We will have a concept plan by the end of the year, and the final design by the end of 2009.”

The relocation of Salisbury Road is also a major part of the project.