Mayor Thorley will give up on her recycled sewage dream ...

... if the NO vote succeeeds on Saturday.

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

Sewage poll will count

By Amanda Gearing and Brendan O'Malley

24 July 2006

Toowoomba mayor Di Thorley yesterday ruled out forging ahead with a controversial plan to recycle purified sewage if the idea is voted down at a referendum on Saturday.

The council has scheduled calling tenders two days after the July 29 referendum on the $68 million-plus project, which involves pumping purified sewage from the Wetalla wastewater treatment plant into the city's main dam.

An email obtained by The Courier-Mail also showed the council had received advice from Local Government Minister Desley Boyle that there was no legal obligation for the council to take the referendum result into account.

The council said in its funding submission to the National Water Commission that although the cost burden on ratepayers would soar if the project did not get $23 million in federal funding, it was so important to the city it still needed to go ahead.

"If the submission is not successful, (Toowoomba City Council) believes the project must still go ahead, resulting in a very significant cost impost to be borne by TCC ratepayers," the funding application said.

But Cr Thorley ruled out pushing ahead regardless of Saturday's vote.

"No, that won't happen. The tenders (have been scheduled) contingent on a 'yes' vote," she said.

Full story - Sewage poll will count.

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