Water has to be safe, whatever the source ...

Article in today's Chronicle quotes the acting CEO of the Local Government Association of Qld on the issue of future liability.

It's a good point and one which the Toowoomba City Council has avoided to date.

Will Toowoomba City Council be liable if anything goes amiss?

The Council has a duty of care to provide safe water to drink.

That exists now and would always be the case irrespective of whatever the water source.

Circumstances don't change, irrespective of whatever the water source may be - whether it's rainwater, retreated water, groundwater, desalinated, chlorinated water. Whatever the source of the water that council uses and treats and provides to the public, its obligation is to ensure it's fit for the purpose and only if someone could establish negligence as a consequence of suffering some injury or damage from the consumption and use of that water would liability apply.

It's a good point.

With news reports from Los Angeles pointing out that testing is revealing residual drugs in recycled water and the long-term effects being unknown, the question remains - who will be liable if something does go wrong.

Has the Council asked for long-term insurance coverage from the recycled water companies? If products installed by private companies fail, should the public bear the liability for the loss?

Interesting questions which remain unanswered ...