Uproar in State Parliament over recycled water plan ...

There was uproar in Qld State Parliament last week as a number of MPs rejected the idea of forcing Toowoomba residents to drink recycled water.

State MPs Hopper, Horan and Copeland each raised concerns regarding the Mayor's controversial plan to introduce recycled sewage into Toowoomba's drinking water.

Some of the comments, as reported in Hansard, reflect the public's concern regarding the rush to adopt the recycled water proposal in the absence of an independent audit of all water source options and a regional approach to resolving water supply issues.

The Mayor's decision to push on in spite of opposition makes you wonder why she is against an independent appraisal of water options for Toowoomba. Is she concerned that an independent review would not judge the recycled water proposal as the preferred option?

Some of the MPs comments:

The Hon. Ray Hopper MP (Member for Darling Downs)

"The Toowoomba City Council mayor has been talking about recycled sewage and waste water. I do not expect anyone to have to drink that water. I talk to people in that city all the time. Most of those people are very, very unhappy. The people are even worried about the thought of having coffee in that town. There are other ways of providing water to Toowoomba."

"I am extremely concerned that Toowoomba Mayor Di Thorley has stated on many occasions that she will cut off the water to Gowrie Creek. The mayor herself was an irrigator on Gowrie Creek. When she was an irrigator, she was the biggest advocate for an increase in the licence. Now look at the changes. Di Thorley wants to go down as the first mayor in history to put recycled waste water into an Australian city. There are other ways of doing this. We can use Qld Gas Co. water."

"I ask the Minister to seriously look at the situation in Toowoomba, because no-one wants to drink their own sewage."


The Hon. Mike Horan MP (Member for Toowoomba South)

"I have real concerns that there are other alternatives which should be looked at first."

"Today I commented in a media release that the Minister is getting bad advice and that bad advice is going to the Toowoomba City Council on that sustainable yield."

"and water is pumped to within about two kilometres of Toowoomba to Withcott. I believe that, if we are truly to be considered worthy citizens of Queensland, consideration should be given to giving a small amount of water as a boost to the city's supply."

"People are also concerned about the image of the city as the most beautiful garden city of Australia. I refer to real estate agents and people in food processing, factories and all those sorts of industries. Members can imagine what their competitors say to people behind the scenes. It might be as good and as safe as it can be, but those are the facts of commercial life."

"What about a little help for us - just a drop in the bucket out of Wivenhoe for us?"


The Hon Stuart Copeland MP (Member for Cunningham)

"I do have some concerns about the recycling of sewage water to be used for indirect potable use."

"It's an issue which has generated a lot of angst within the Toowoomba community."

"There are a lot of issues to be dealt with before it happens in Toowoomba. I have to say that I support the actions of Ian Macfarlane."

"It's a little disappointing because some of the statements in here [the Dept of Natural Resources and Mines report "Toowoomba and area supply future directions: Review of recently identified alternatives"] make it look more like justifying the need to support the drinking of recycled water or justifying the need to get money from the national water initiative than looking at the alternatives for securing the supply of water to Toowoomba."

"This document seems to be more about justifying the need to drink recycled water than it is about realistically looking at alternatives. That is a real shame."

Regarding the Dept of Natural Resources and Mines comments that certain alternatives are "not innovative", Mr Copeland said:

"That is not a reason why it should be ruled out. To rule it out because it is not innovative is simply ridiculous to the people of Toowoomba [and surrounding shires] who are having to look at drinking recycled water. We do not have to do something simply because it is innovative."

For the full text see -

Hansard 9 November 2005

Hansard 10 November 2005