Coal reserves to provide water to Qld towns ...

From ABC News:

Towns in southern Queensland will soon be able to use millions of litres of treated water, left over when natural gas is extracted from underground coal reserves.

The Chinchilla shire will have access to 1,000 megalitres of water each year, for the next 30 years, from 25 gas wells establish by Queensland Gas Company.

Managing director Richard Cottee says the region is full of coal reserves which could supply many more towns.

"It's going to be, because of the distance and the volumes, it's going to be marginally more expensive than what they've got at the present time," he said.

"But the major advantage of it is that it's drought proof, it is not dependent on the weather.

"If you have a seven-year drought you are still going to be able to go without water restrictions."

See - Coal reserves to provide water to Qld towns.