Jondaryan Shire calls for regional water planning ...

Press release by Jondaryan Shire Council:

Jondaryan calls for regional water planning

Toowoomba and adjoining shires need a single water planning and distribution authority and Jondaryan Shire wants to put a 750 megalitre bore water allocation on the table as part of a regional discussion on water.

A single water corporation has been established by the State government in conjunction with councils in the south east corner to take charge of water supply in what has become the fastest growing region in Queensland.

Jondaryan Shire Mayor Peter Taylor said there had been a failure to plan for adequate water supply to meet growing demand. The Mayor said that the State Government when faced with falling water levels in the dams supplying Brisbane and the coast, decided to expand the South East Queensland Water Corporation to include all the cities and shires.

“Our area is the second fastest growing area in the State, and our water levels are lower than the major dams on the coast. This is all the more reason for all suppliers of water in and around Toowoomba to get together and plan to meet what may in a few months become an emergency.
Whatever measures we undertake now should fit into a longer term strategy of planning to meet future demand for water.”

The mayor said an obvious place to start was for all local authorities to do a stock take of their water supplies and reserves and bring this information to a central water authority that could allocate water to where it was needed across the region.

“Oakey has a 750 megalitre allocation of bore water and we are currently testing our bores ready to bring them on-line if required. We need to talk to Toowoomba and our neighbours sharing the Toowoomba water to see how our allocation would be best used if the situation becomes so bad that we have supplement the reticulated water from the dams. Joint discussions now could lay the foundation for a regional body for the future,” the mayor said.

The combined total capacity of the region’s three dams has now fallen to below 25%. Level 5 water restrictions are due when the levels fall to 20%, and without good rain, there is enough water for about 12 months.

See - Jondaryan Shire press release.