Toowoomba Grammar dumps Cooby Dam property ...
The Board of Trustees of the Toowoomba Grammar School have placed their property fronting Cooby Dam on the market.
The waterfront property, Abingdon, will be offered for auction on 19 November 2005.
Are the Trustees worried about the property's value declining if the Council's recycled sewage plan goes ahead and recycled sewage is pumped into Cooby Dam?
The property has modern accommodation for 32 students. Are the Trustees concerned about possible future legal liability relating to students swimming in the dam?
See: http://www.domain.com.au/public/propertydetails.aspx?mode=BUY&id=2005213160&prevChannel=Emails&prevPage=Home+Alert+Open+(postclick)&prevServer=Emails&s_cid=HomeAlert:QLD&ectsup=&haprof=321833&ectfup=
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 6:00 PM
4 Comments:
In London by the time you drink a glass of tap water, it has been through 7 kidneys - a fact I didn't find out until after I returned from London. But I can't say I noticed the difference or contracted any nasty diseases.
Toowoomba is in a desperate situation, yet none of the opponents of this scheme have come up with any reasonable alternative. We need masses more water than we are currently using to accomodate the population increase in the next 20 yrs. There is nowhere to build a new dam & a dam has to be filled by rain anyway - which hasn't been forthcoming. The water table is dropping fast and bores are running dry, so we can't rely on that forever either.
The reason the Mayor and Ian Macfarlane MP suddenly came out against the idea is because Clive Berghoffer promised the National & Liberal Parties (& most likely Di Thorley) to make major donations to their next campaigns. How do I know? I have been involved in Qld Coalition circles for many years.
It's a shame. I used to greatly admire Clive as a far-sighted man. But old-age has turned him into just another elderly reactionary.
Does he think people are going to buy his land and build houses if they don't have water? He is shooting himself in the foot.
11:39 AM, October 15, 2005
The 7 kidney argument is interesting but a myth. It's often said that London water is recycled 7 times but why only 7 times? What mechanism knows that it has been through 7 sets of kidneys and where does the water go then?
Toowoomba needs masses of water? Sounds like the QGC proposal could assist.
I thought the Mayor was still in favour of the idea? If she's now against it, it's game over.
The flaw in the "it will never rain again" argument, is that it defeats the recycled water proposal. If it never rains again, there will be no water to mix with the recycled water so people will be drinking 100% recycled water which has not been proposed anywhere in the world.
There are other options - as this blog shows. The Council should take the time to examine these options - sinking bores will reduce the immediate water urgency - giving time to properly assess and cost the alternatives.
Drinking recycled effluent (or "chewy water")should be a last resort once all other options have been assessed and costed.
Maybe Clive is acting out of self-interest as he has a lot at stake but, if a better solution is the result, everybody will gain.
10:46 AM, October 16, 2005
I didn't realise that the London thing was a myth, however as I understand there are several countries around that DO recycle all their waste water & drink it.
Do you have any stats or examples of anyone getting sick or dying from drinking effluent treated to a high-standard?
Calling it "chewy water" is just propaganda on your part. Modern technology can refine waste water to be just as clean as fresh water. I'm sure plenty of animal dung ends up in Cooby & Cressbrooks Dams, but does this turn up in our taps? If you were presented with a glass of recycled water & a glass of Twmba's current water supply, I bet you couldn't tell the difference in either sight or taste.
The Mayor has agreed to a 5-year CSIRO study before it goes any further. That is as good as canning the idea - a tactic straight out of Yes Minister. She was bought off just like Macfarlane.
I understand that the QGC water is salty. There has been complaints by farmers on the Downs that when this water is pumped up it will ruin their land due to the salt if not contained properly. Even if this is overcome, what is the cost of pumping this water hundreds of KMs to Toowoomba?
Of course it will rain again, but it would appear that (a) the amount of rainfall has decreased in recent years & that this may well be a permanent situation. (b) with the increased population & population projections we need MORE water than we have used in the past.
At least one of the Council bores is already dry. The Great Artesian Basin is not replenishing at anywhere near the rate that we are using it, and it is also unfair on people who live on properties where bore water is the ONLY option that Twmba should be taking large amounts of their bore water, lowering the levels and causing these farmers to have to drill their bore deeper, at great cost to them.
I think if Clive actually examined it, he would realise that he's NOT acting in his own interest. People won't move to Toowoomba if there's no water to be had, or if there are such strict restrictions that outside water use has to be banned on a permanent basis. Most people like to have a garden, lawn & a clean car. Not to mention what happens to the Carnival of Flowers? Does it become a competition only for those who can afford to sink their own bores?
This campaign against the recycled water is just a fear campaign based on ignorance of modern technology's ability to recycle water to a perfectly safe state. The automatic reaction of Toowoomba people to change or new ideas always seems to be opposition. As a young person in this City, I find it infuriating that we always have to be so reactionary & not assess this scheme on scientific evidence.
Di Thorley has brought a lot of new & different ideas to this city and brought it into the 21st Century. She has upset the conservative curmudgeons who have ruled this city for the last 100 years and think it is far better to have a Mayor with impeccable high-society manners & behaviour but who does little, than a rough diamond who is doing something for Toowoomba for the first time since Clive was Mayor (the old Clive who wasn't afraid of change).
6:56 PM, October 16, 2005
I'm not saying never use recycled effluent - I'm just saying it's too early to know if it is safe.
If it is safe, why is the Federal Government, through the Australian Research Council, providing university grants to determine how to make it safe? Why is there a 2005 Federal Parliamentary report that says more research on recycled water is required? Why is there a 2002 Federal Senate report saying there is insufficient evidence showing the water is safe?
But here's another question: would you rather drink recycled sewage or treated gas water or water from other underground sources surrounding Toowoomba?
Shouldn't these options be properly assessed and costed? Or should they be summarily dismissed?
Recycled sewage for drinking should be a last resort and the Council should examine all alternatives before spending my money and your money on a long-term option. There are other alternatives and Toowoomba has time to make the correct choice.
It is the Council's responsibility to establish that there are no long-term effects from drinking recycled sewage not for others to prove the opposite.
There are many opponents to the Mayor's plan from all walks of life. Some are affiliated with CADS, others write letters to the newspapers or to politicians or establish blogs or sign petitions. Some arguments are based on emotional grounds - others on intellectual grounds.
There are scare campaigns out there - but they are on both sides of the debate!
The term "chewy water" is misleading but so is "NuWater" which the Singapore spin doctors created.
Interesting argument though - both praising and condemning the embattled Mayor.
1:45 AM, October 17, 2005
Post a Comment
<< Home