Fears won't wash - but honesty and transparency is needed ...
Comments in today's Courier Mail by Dr Stuart Khan from the Centre for Water and Waste Technology, University of New South Wales.
See - the opposing view.
Read the full article.
One of his comments is particularly relevant to Toowoomba:
"The single lingering impediment to recycled water may be our reluctance to overcome our deep-set fears.
This will require a degree of trust from the community towards scientists, regulators and public officials.
Trust is something that cannot be purchased, but must be earned. The means to earning trust involve honesty, transparency and a sincere opportunity to take part in decision-making."
Most people would agree that there is little or no trust in the Toowoomba City Council. The Council has been less than honest and transparent in its push to introduce the Mayor's controversial recycled sewage project. Toowoomba residents have been offered no opportunity to take part in decision making which will affect their future ...
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 12:28 PM
11 Comments:
Hello,
Thanks for your comments regarding this opinion piece. I think they are legitimate observations.
I have (just today!) also started a blog at: http://waterrecycling.blogspot.com/
If you feel inclined, I would also appreciate if you would consider leaving your comments there as well.
Regards,
sk
3:38 PM, May 16, 2006
Until membrane technology can remove all chemicals instead of this almost all then the technology is flawed and health laws should prevent there use for recycling effluent into drinking water. The problem with you sysnopis Stuart is that most of us now have researched this membrane technique a little more deeper then water recycling companies would have liked us to and the whole squeezing large things through small holes is a childish misconception of the whole process.
And why do so many people insist on us drinking it - that is disgusting - there are other means of utilising this water. So f...ing what if it costs a bit more then dumping it straight into our domestic water supply.
4:42 PM, May 16, 2006
People have the right in this Country to say No, well that was the last time I looked at the constitution.
Mayor Thorley is not even game to face the people at a community forum. If they know this is so right then come out and talk.
They promised public meetings, the Chamber of Commerce promised Public meeting and only CADS are to follow through and let the people freely speak on the 27th MAY.
The publicity will start a week before that and we will all get to see where the $460.000 will be spent by this rotten council.
The bett is on a 22nd July Poll, see if I am right.
Then we can sit down calmly and get the other options under way.
5:58 PM, May 16, 2006
Stuart you do not understand the toowoomba situation. we have been lied to by our own council. we have been basically told you have no choice but too drink this water and there are no other alternatives. (does anyone remember the "you don't have too drink this water" comment by our mayor?) what does that say too you? I see it as saying. "I know you have concerns about this water. but trust me! It will be fine". what reassurances can you get from that?? what scientific evidence is there that supports that drinking a mixture of 25-29% effluent is safe? Hell I am for recycling water. but I don't see why we should be drinking it! especially at levels that haven't YET been proven safe.
just a few things too think about.
there are always an alternative too everything. think about all the other stuff ups in the world because of so called "science"
6:00 PM, May 16, 2006
Great anothier POO DRINKER. This is all we need, some NERD pushing recycled sewage down our throats again. Yes recycled sewage is good, but only for NON-DRINKING purposes.
People who make RO technology are not in it for the better of mankind, just the MONEY. Who cares about what happens in 10 years time, we'll have your money and be gone, that's about as much truth you'll get from them.
Stuart Khan, we don't need another Di Thorley here, take you science degree and shove it in your RO machine and drink it. You and nobody else will convince the people of Australia that drinking treated sewage water will be safe, those that do are not true blue aussie's or are just down right disgusting people.
1:51 AM, May 17, 2006
Funny how Stuart Khan states the water is so pure it needs IRON put into to. That itself, I think says the technology is flawed and the truth is not what we are being told..
6:31 PM, May 17, 2006
All we are left with is to decide if we want Poo-rified Wee-cycled water or not.
Most of us say NOT.
Remember now all you have to do is tick the No on the ballot paper on the 29th July.
9:03 PM, May 17, 2006
Thorley's attempt to purchase trust with our $460,000 will fail!
12:45 AM, May 18, 2006
Presumably all the posters here have no problem with drinking tank water containing bird poop. Anyone thought about the possibility of getting bird flu from there? Let's ban water tanks!!!
And does present water treatment filter out all the antibiotics passed by livestock? Let's ban the present water supply!!!
Makes as much sense as most of the anti recycling arguments on here.
10:10 AM, May 18, 2006
Last time I checked, the tanks weren't holding 30mgs/l of TDS - something the Council misled the public on. It was pure water going into Cooby and, once the NWC application was released under a FOI application, they had to admit they hadn't told the truth.
Now Ramia is saying the recycled water is "fairly clean".
10:20 AM, May 18, 2006
One of the difficulties with Stuart's late arrival to the Toowoomba debate is the time which would be required to convince a majority of Toowoomba residents to drink recycled sewage.
This assumes one can change people's minds - there are certainly large numbers in Toowoomba whom you will never convince to drink recycled sewage.
For the past 10 months, Toowoomba people have been subjected to lies and deception by the Toowoomba City Council on a level rarely seen in Australian politics.
And for what purpose?
To try to "educate" the people that they should be drinking recycled sewage.
Every study to date shows that an overwhelming majority of people do not currently want to drink recycled sewage. This includes the most recent polling done in Toowoomba.
The Mayor now proposes to embark on a relentless advertising campaign for the next 8 weeks, spending $460,000 of ratepayers' money to try to achieve what she has been unable to achieve in the past 10 months - to convince Toowoomba residents to drink recycled sewage.
It seems highly likely that this campaign will fail. You simply can't buy trust.
It also seems that the Mayor is very much afraid of this - needing to grant the Yes campaign $460,000 of ratepayers' funds while allowing $0.00 for the No campaign.
Even this week, she was up to her old tricks - trying to limit the number of how to vote cards which could be issued. Given that no election process in Australia seeks to impose such limits, this is once again extraordinary behaviour.
Toowoomba people are not stupid - they can see through these tactics.
The other difficulty the recycled sewage industry faces with the referendum is that this will be an opportunity for anyone with a grievance against the Mayor or the Council to express their disapproval through a No vote.
When the Mayor or Deputy Mayor abuses or threatens someone, do they really think these people will vote Yes? Do they think those offended by the parking changes will vote Yes? What about those who think the Mayor's obelisks were a waste of money?
Rightly or wrongly, voters will use the referendum to express their distrust and disapproval of the Mayor and the Council.
The $460,000 ratepayer funded advertising campaign has offended many people.
Many people are also outraged that the Council has continually lied to them.
These people are unlikely to vote Yes.
The recycled sewage industry should perhaps have done some homework before choosing Mayor Thorley as their spokesperson.
8:08 PM, May 18, 2006
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