Toowoomba gets it right ...

Comments on ABC News:

31 July 2006

Professor Don Bursill, retired former chief executive officer of the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment, says there will always be some risks when sewage is turned into drinking water.

He says the chance of some pathogens and chemicals slipping through even the most sophisticated filtering systems can't be ruled out.

Bursill also says water workers would need to be specially trained and the regulatory system beefed up to cope with the new recycling technology.

We haven't overcome all the technical and regulatory issues, says one critic.

"I'm glad the community in Toowoomba rejected it because I don't think we're ready for it," he says.

Australia also needs to concentrate on using its existing water resources more efficiently before turning to solutions like recycling, he says.

Source - ABC News - Toowoomba votes NO.