Yet another water source option ...

From the Chronicle (annotated):

Water from NSW tipped for Toowoomba

29 September 2006

By Greg Berghofer

Toowoomba Water Task Force member Dave McEvoy has revealed pumping water from the New South Wales Northern Rivers is being strongly considered as a solution to the problems of Toowoomba and surrounding shires.

Mr McEvoy, Crows Nest Shire Council's chief executive officer, sits on the Water Task Force as the shire's representative and was responding at yesterday's general meeting to a councillor's query on the body's progress.

Mr McEvoy said Federal Parliamentary Secretary on Water Malcolm's Turnbull's promotion to head the Office of Water Resources offered real hope of federal intervention in South-East Queensland's water crisis.

Being in charge of the new office, Mr Turnbull could be in a position to bring about water transfers across State borders, he said.

"The prospects of getting water from New South Wales are now a lot better," Mr McEvoy told his council.

"It could come from the Clarence or from the Tweed, although it's salty a fair way up." Mr McEvoy said the task force had six months to come up with the solution for Toowoomba city and its client shires.

Other solutions being discussed were underground water, a medium-term possibility of water from Wivenhoe Dam, and a longer-term solution of desalination or recycling [but not for drinking].

Bringing water from the Northern Rivers is a further possibility being mooted after Australian Transport Energy Corridor chairman Everald Compton last week proposed pumping water from the yet-to-be built Nathan Dam near Taroom.

See - There are so many water options.

The new Federal Office of Water Resources ...

Excerpt from news.com.au:

Office of Water Resources

26 September 2006

John Howard is planning to take control of the water crisis by creating a federal ministry of water resources, opening the way for the promotion of millionaire MP Malcolm Turnbull.

As part of a renewed effort to force the states into action, a new Office of Water Resources will be created to co-ordinate all federal departmental plans for water recycling, cleaning and marketing.

The office will be attached to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, but is seen as a precursor to the creation of a full ministry later in the year.

See - Water resources gets its own office.

SEQ water grid - pipes ready ...

From the Sunday Mail:

First Qld water grid pipes ready

24 September 2006

THE first steel pipes have been produced for the south-east Queensland water grid, Premier Peter Beattie says.

The grid will connect water storage facilities and treatment plants including Wivenhoe Dam, North Pine Dam, Somerset Dam and the Gold Coast desalination plant, to ease the region's water crisis.

Mr Beattie and his deputy Anna Bligh have inspected the initial rollout of the steel pipes needed to build the grid, at the Tyco Water factory near Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

The premier said more than 17,000 tonnes of pipe would be needed for the southern regional water pipeline and the western corridor recycled water pipeline.

"What is happening at this steel plant near Ipswich is history in the making. It's about producing the pipes to build the water grid that will ultimately keep water flowing around south-east Queensland," Mr Beattie said today.

The first pipes for both pipelines are expected to be laid in Ipswich next month.

See - First pipes ready.

Interestingly, the head of the Qld Water Commission commented on Stateline on the ABC on 22 September that the water grid would only be extended to Gatton.

Has the water grid been taken off the table of water options to be considered by the Toowoomba Water Task Force even before it has been assessed ...

Toowoomba still has gardens ...

With the introduction of level 5 water restrictions to Toowoomba, it's appropriate to remind readers that Toowoomba is not the dustbowl some would have you believe.

Toowoomba still has gardens. It still has the Carnival of Flowers (although held a week early this year so it did not coincide with school holidays - resulting in less crowds and many unhappy garden competition entrants).

Toowoomba still has its garden competition. It has rained. Garden competition entrants are also supplied bore water by the Toowoomba City Council with the Chronicle picking up the bill.

So here is a snap of the Grand Champion to show that Toowoomba hasn't become that dustbowl ...

Toowoomba tightens up - level 5 water restrictions ...

An excerpt from the Courier Mail:

Toowoomba tightens up

By Peter Morley

25 September 2006

Toowoomba will be the first to taste what much of southeast Queensland is heading apparently inexorably towards – level 5 water restrictions.

From tomorrow, residents of the Garden City and parts of the Crows Nest, Jondaryan and Rosalie shires will be banned from watering outside with hoses or buckets. They will, however, be able to bucket grey water from their laundry, shower or bath on to their gardens.

Reticulated water can be carried by bucket to wash car windscreens, windows, mirrors and headlights, animals, their pens and kennels, and wheelie bins.

Toowoomba and the surrounding shires rely on Cressbrook, Perseverance and Cooby dams now at 20.3 per cent capacity and bores that supply up to 20 per cent of demand.

In a bid to ensure supply, Toowoomba council has sunk new bores and is about to begin a sub-artesian bore expected to hit water at about 700m.

See - Level 5 water restrictions and TCC press release.


It is worth noting that the NO vote on 29 July 2006 in no way contributed to Toowoomba now being on level 5 water restrictions.

A Yes vote at the referendum would NOT have alleviated the situation.

Mayor Thorley's Water Futures proposal would NOT have supplied recycled sewage water before 2011-2012. It would not by itself have resulted in Toowoomba residents being able to use their garden hoese once again.

Toowoomba City Council and the Toowoomba Water Task Force need to examine the water options which are now on the table and move swiftly to resolve Toowoomba current water source issues.

Toowoomba City Council Councillors, the current state of the city's water source concerns has occurred on your watch. How you resolve it will be your legacy ...

Toowoomba reaches level five water restrictions ...

From ABC News (annotated)

Toowoomba reaches level five water restrictions

The World Today

25 September 2006

Reporter: David Curnow

ELEANOR HALL: Just weeks after rejecting recycled water in a referendum, the residents of the drought-stricken city of Toowoomba in south-east Queensland now face some of the toughest water restrictions in the country.Along with Goulburn in New South Wales, Toowoomba is to become one of the only areas in Australia on level five restrictions, which allow no outside tap water use.

But those who led the campaign against accepting treated effluent still insist the city made the right choice, as David Curnow reports.

DAVID CURNOW: Toowoomba's dams are about to drop below 20 per cent capacity. So from tomorrow, water restrictions move to their toughest official level. No one can use town water outside. One of the few exceptions, cleaning a car windscreen, but only if it's dangerous not to.That means no hoses for any reason, no washing your car or house and no cleaning your pavers, most definitely no watering gardens with town water. For a city that's famous for its annual Carnival of Flowers, that's a tough ask, but nursery operator Lorraine Schiller says gardeners are up to the challenge.

LORRAINE SCHILLER: We've been on the level four for over 12 months, and people have realised that they don't need to water their garden as often as what they did before. And it showed with the carnival this year, with some of the plants have never looked so good and flowered so well.

DAVID CURNOW: Toowoomba's Deputy Mayor, Councillor Joe Ramia, is also in charge of water decisions in the city.

JOE RAMIA: There's no prize or there's no award for being on level five. These are tough times and, you know, if we don't get any rain in the next six months or so, they're going to get even tougher.

[Joe, you could always consider the Norwin irrigator proposal - there's $22 million in this year's Council budget which could now be allocated towards this.]

DAVID CURNOW: What is tougher than level five?

JOE RAMIA: Well, the council has spoken very briefly on what happens if we don't receive any rain or water in our dams and, you know, the dams keep dropping, which they are, and we get down to most probably, say, 15 per cent. Whether there comes in another level or, you know, maybe level six, what they may be at this stage is anyone's guess. You know, people have spoken about putting a stop to development, people have spoken about many things, but until we have the debate, you know, you can't pre-empt any decision at this stage. But, you know, at the end of the day, if we don't have water, something has to change out there to conserve what water we have left for drinking and living purposes.

DAVID CURNOW: The local State MP, Kerry Shine, supported the yes vote in the July referendum on recycled water. He lost that campaign, but after retaining his seat in this month's Queensland election, he's been rewarded with the Natural Resources and Water Portfolio, and with no significant rain, his own city now faces running out of water in 2008.

KERRY SHINE: So it's not as if we're going to run out of water tomorrow, but there will, you are quite right, be considerable restrictions. It's important, therefore, that the recommendations that we need to get are got together promptly, and that the Government makes the decision with council as to which way to go in terms of coming up with the necessary solutions.

DAVID CURNOW: Even if Toowoomba had voted to accept recycled water, it wouldn't have been available for some years. And one of the leading no campaigners, Rosemary Morley, says the new restrictions don't prove the city made a mistake in rejecting the alternative water source.

ROSEMARY MORLEY: What people should understand is that it was going to happen whether they voted yes or no, simply because the council has sat on its hands and hasn't worked on the infrastructure to bring other water to the people.

DAVID CURNOW: But Joe Ramia says some Toowoomba residents are changing their minds about recycled water.

JOE RAMIA: I've spoken to some people who, you know, who were very strong no case supporters said hey, maybe this has been the wrong way I voted or, you know, maybe I should've got more information and did the right thing because, at the end of the day, it's about a community having water, and at this stage we don't have a real lot of it.

[But Joe, your Water Futures project would not have provided recycled sewage water until 2011-2012]

ELEANOR HALL: That's Toowoomba resident Joe Ramia ending that report from David Curnow.

See - ABC News - Level 5 restrictions.


Perhaps Deputy Mayor Ramia could provide some evidence that NO voters are suddenly changing their minds in favour of Mayor Thorley's failed recycled sewage experiment ...

Toowoomba City Council by-election ...

... the candidates - here.

The by-election will be held on 21 October 2006 ...

Wait, there's yet another option ...

After Toowoomba City Council spent months telling Toowoomba residents that there were no other options to the recycled sewage project, they seem to just keep popping up - this one even surprising Toowoomba City Council.

From The Chronicle:

22 September 2006
Page 5

Dam could be solution to water problem

After months of water fighting an as-yet-unheard-of proposal has emerged.

Nathan Dam near Taroom could be the answer to Toowoomba's prayers, according to Everald Compton, a man of many hats and backgrounds.

The State Government has given to go-ahead for the dam but until yesterday few had considered Toowoomba taking from the supply.

Toowoomba City Council Deputy Mayor Joe Ramia admitted he had not come across Nathan Dam as an option either before or after water recycling was knocked back in the July referendum.

But if it came up over the next few months it would be out of council's hands.

"At this stage it's in the hands of the State Government," Cr Ramia said, referring to the recently-formed taskforce that is expected to hand down a decision about where Toowoomba will get its water from within about three months.

Mr Compton said he would submit the Nathan Dam proposal to the taskforce which is also considering the Norwin and coal seam gas options among others.

The dam needed to be built to service the 15 coal mines along the Toowoomba-to-Gladstone stretch of the inland rail line from Melbourne to Gladstone with a guaranteed water supply.


It's interesting that Toowoomba City Council seems to have washed its hands of anything to do with resolving Toowoomba's water issues - saying it's the State government's problem now.

It's worth remembering that Council allocated $22 million in this year's budget for the Water Futures project - money which can now be allocated towards sensible solutions to ensure short and long-term water security for Toowoomba ...

Toowoomba City Council Councillor - "we're broke" ...

An interesting comment in today's Chronicle (page 7) by Councillor Sue Englart in response to a request for some funds by Toowoomba's Police Citizens Youth Club to fund their expansion.

Her response: "We're broke".

With the amount Mayor Thorley and the Toowoomba City Council wasted on the recycled sewage proposal plus the continued funding of her conferencing touring, it's no surprise that the Council is finding funding tight ...

Mayor Thorley ... on the road again ..

You would think that the overwhelming No vote on 29 July 2006 would put an end to Mayor Thorley's endless conference trips at ratepayers' expense to talk up the benefits of drinking recycled sewage.

But no, here she goes again.

This time, she's off to Brisbane to talk at the Urban Water Sustainability Conference on 29 and 30 November 2006.

She will present a case study on Water Futures Toowoomba:

29 November 2006

3:10pm Case Study: Water Futures Toowoomba

Mayor Di Thorley is a passionate believer in the benefits recycling water for potable use.

Following the ‘no’ vote for recycled water, hear her discuss Toowoomba’s plans to secure water supply in the short and long term.

Reflecting on the referendum result: Lessons learned

Why recycling is the only sustainable option for Toowoomba

Overcoming the ‘yuk’ factor: Can it be done?

Where to now for Toowoomba, is there an alternative solution in the long-term?

See - Urban Water Sustainability conference.

That should be a fairly one-sided discussion.

Don't expect her to discuss the other options, nor how Toowoomba will not now run out of water as Toowoomba City Council "underestimated" the amount of available bore water.

Her comments on why her referendum failed will be interesting. Don't expect her to accept any blame for her poorly conceived project nor for her inept campaign to force people to drink recycled sewage.

Expect her to lay the blame on the Yuk factor. That's a lot easier than examining the real reasons for her failure ...

Lies, damn lies and recycled water ...

In view of Mayor Thorley's intention to continue spruiking for the recycled water industry, this article is worth revisiting.

From Nine News (emphasis added):

31 July 2006

Lies, damn lies and recycled water

By Alex Smith, National Nine News, Brisbane Reporter

The Toowoomba community's resounding no vote in Saturday's water referendum had virtually nothing to do with recycling. The people simply delivered the Mayor that age-old lesson that arrogance will never attract popular support.

Mayor Di Thorley lost her bid to use recycled effluent as drinking water the day she chose to announce her plans on a national radio program, shunning her local community and leaving people with festering feelings of resentment and the perception they were being railroaded.

Thorley acted as if on some mission from God to achieve a place in environmental history as the champion of recycled water. Instead, her patronising and belittling approach has set the cause back several years.

The cause was further crippled by a professionally pathetic local media that was intimidated by the Mayor and failed to constructively canvas both sides of the debate.

It is yet another reminder to leaders at all levels of government that they can't attempt to jam something down their community's neck without meaningful negotiation and inclusion.

It's also a lesson to the Greens, Australian Water Association and other so-called conservation groups that they can't ride into town on some sort of pompous lecture tour and expect anyone to take them seriously. As they retreat to their capital city offices and gaze into their chardonnays, they would do well to reflect that ordinary Australians will not be patronised or forced to comply with environmentally trendy notions conceived in some popular café.

It is indicative of the nature of the campaign that the Australian Water Association chose to complain about the word sewage being used in conjunction with the term, recycled water. What a joke! If the lobby is so bereft of arguments to support recycling that they need to hide the water's origin, then what hope have they got of winning an honest debate.

There is another myth being perpetrated after the Toowoomba poll. The no vote was not against recycling. It was simply a 'no' to the Mayor's proposal that drinking recycled water should be the first option.

The 'no' case wants recycling, they enthusiastically want to build the reverse osmosis plant at Toowoomba's treatment plant, but they believe every litre of recycled water can be allocated to industry and other users without the need to drink it.

The 'no' case also believes that if the drought continues and there are no remaining options for supply, then treated effluent should be used for human consumption provided all current concerns about hormone and chemical contamination are overcome. The 'no' lobby in Toowoomba simply objects to the notion that recycled water has to be drunk in order for it to be environmentally correct.

The final analysis of the Toowoomba poll is that there should never have been a need for a vote. A measured proposal, properly placed before the community, would never have attracted the federal requirement for a vote.

The real tragedy now is that environmental groups and the petulant Mayor are saying the Toowoomba vote has killed recycling. Nothing is further from the truth. The vote simply means that governments at all levels have to implement recycling according to the will of the people and not in response to the whims of the environmentally correct.

See - Lies, damned lies and recycled water.

New Minister for Natural Resources & Water ...

... a good choice or not?

Although it's early days, Premier Beattie's choice of Member for Toowoomba North, Kerry Shine, as Minister for the (reshaped) portfolio of Natural Resources and Water could be positive for resolving Toowoomba's water source issues post-referendum.

As a local member, Mr Shine is well aware of the result of the recycled sewage referendum held on 29 July.

Although largely silent during most of the debate in the lead up to the referendum, Mr Shine knows how divisive the issue was for Toowoomba and that around 62% of people living in Toowoomba did not think that Mayor Thorley's recycled sewage scheme would benefit Toowoomba.

Mr Shine also lives in Toowoomba - much better to have one of the relevant Ministers living where the problem actually is.

Toowoomba is also one of the easier water issues to resolve. Buying water from the Norwin irrigators is one short-term solution while longer-term solutions are developed.

Mr Shine will no doubt have plenty of more contentious issues to deal with as part of his portfolio in the next couple of years. While elevation to Ministry level has bumped up Mr Shine's pay cheque, Premier Beattie has saddled him with what may well turn out to be a poisoned chalice.

Mr Shine (in conjunction with Deputy Premier Bligh who will deal with water infrastructure) will have to deal with the fallout from opposition to the Traveston dam. Minister Shine and Deputy Premier Bligh will be responsible for implementing State government policy which dictates flooding people's homes and the destruction (albeit with some compensation) of their livelihoods. The now-retired Minister Palaszszuk went to ground rather than face the protestors - leaving it to Premier Beattie to tough it out. Mr Shine now shares that job.

So here is your challenge Mr Shine (at least as far as Toowoomba is concerned).

Work constructively with the No campaigners appointed to the task force established to look at the other options which are now back on the table. Review the Norwin irrigators' proposal. Don't forget the results of the referendum. And no games ...

UQ seminar - recycled water: multiple perspectives ...

... Tuesday 19 September 2006 - 12pm-2pm.

An important forum to discuss the scientific, practical, safety, and social issues surrounding the use of recycled water to solve our current water crisis.

No doubt the Toowoomba Water Futures referendum result will be discussed.

See - UQ events - recycled water: multiple perspectives.

Australia has a water management problem ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

9 September 2006

A strategy to to hold water

Australia has a water management problem rather than a shortage.

Three-quarters of Australia's population live in the urban centres, but they consume only 8 per cent of available water. Irrigators account for 67 per cent.

...

The price paid for water by Australian households varies between cities, but lurks at about $1.30 a kilolitre. This translates into less than a dollar a day for most households. Irrigators pay no more than a few cents per kilolitre. The entire flow of water tapped by Adelaide from the Murray is equivalent to the allocation of just 15 large-scale rice farmers.

It's little wonder then that talk of linking urban and regional water markets has some farmers more than a little nervous. Allowing urban water authorities to freely buy irrigators' allocations would be like letting loose a busload of Australian tourists in a Kuta Beach department store. Their buying power would be phenomenal.

...

"The thing that many people forget is that a small amount of water in a rural setting goes a very long way in an urban area," he says. "We're not talking about very big transfers of water; there can be some local effects but in terms of the national economy the effect on Australian agriculture is not very big."

Increasing water scarcity around the world is driving a similar evolution. Water has become a valuable resource and governments are forced to find ways of getting it to the highest-value users. As sure as water always runs downhill, this is creating tensions between the historical and the new users.

In the Australian context, this means a transfer from farms to cities, and it has already started. Adelaide recently purchased water from former dairy farmers in the lower Murray, while Perth's water authority bought similar entitlements from Harvey Water in return for investment in infrastructure that will result in water savings equivalent to the entitlement purchased.

...

Young says urban water authorities are likely to discover that recycling and stormwater capture would be prohibitively expensive, which would make them look again at desalination, which is becoming increasingly efficient.

Despite controversy about its high energy use, new technologies from Israel have driven efficiencies up and costs down to nearly half the price for urban water.

Desalination is a serious option for cities such as Perth, with limited alternatives and access to inexpensive, low greenhouse emission energy sources such as gas.

"The great thing about desalination is that it is not climate-dependent. So you can actually have the water continuously and have it just in time: you don't have to store it and let it evaporate while you are waiting to use it," Young says.

Read the full article - A strategy to hold water.

Interesting comments.

The Norwin irrigators have been proposing a water swap with Toowoomba City Council. So far, it has been falling on deaf ears. Yet, irrigator water swaps are now a key initiative of the National Water Commission and are taking place elsewhere in Australia.

The comments about desalination are bound to annoy the recycled sewage proponents, particularly how new efficiencies are reducing the cost of desalinated water. But how sensible would it be to use gas-powered desalination plants in appropriate places around Australia ...

Jondaryan Shire Mayor's views on resolving the water source issues ...

... a regional approach.

See - What now? (Post-referendum comments)

Queensland wasting its most precious resource ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

13 September 2006

Queensland wasting its most precious resource

Queensland isn’t in the midst of a critical water shortage — we’re in the middle of a critical water wastage. At least that’s what Mackay man William Beale, managing director of Queensland’s largest water drilling contractor, believes.

While Queensland’s south-east and Toowoomba impose increasingly stringent water restrictions, 438 billion litres of water from the Artesian Basin is being lost to soakage and evaporation every year.

...

The wastage is a result of about 450 free-flowing bores that were sunk more than 100 years ago and have not been capped, their clean drinking water instead spilling out onto the land.

"Water has been in the news so much but the reality is Queensland is wasting one of the greatest resources it has," he said.

Mr Beale and his Mackay-based Queensland Drilling Services team have recently been contracted to drill for water in Toowoomba as a way of alleviating the city’s water woes.

On Saturday, they will take the company’s biggest drilling rig to sink the first of what may become many town bores in the area.

While he said the only long-term solution to water shortages would be to build more dams, Mr Beale said Queensland was overlooking the difference the Great Artesian Basin could make to the issue.

The Department of Natural Resources has begun capping the free-flowing bores, however the voluntary process requires landowners to contribute 20-40% of the cost and many are unwilling to do so.

See - Wasted resources.

Victoria plans massive recycled water for industry project ...

... using recycled water for Latrobe Valley power stations.

See - Backing for recycled sewage project.

Returning officer admits his bluff failed ...

... Council had NO power to shut down the blogs.

Comments in the latest Toowoomba City Council Committee meeting agenda (5 and 6 September 2006) vindicate the stance taken by 4350water blog.

As you may recall (See - Local Government Minister tries to shut down blogs), the Department of Local Government made comments in April 2006 that blogs would not be permitted to remain online during the referendum period without complying with the authorisation requirements.

4350water blog made some comments on this - see - The end of the blogs - the short answer and The end of the blogs - the long answer.

The Returning Officer then made similar comments to the Local Government Minister's representative in relation to the blogs. In his view, the law was being breached if these blogs remained online during the referendum period.

He now admits he may not have been correct - raising in his Report on the Water Futures Poll the prospect that the State government should be asked to amend the law to ensure that blogs can be shutdown (See - Agenda Item No 37).

His comments during the referendum and the comments of the Local Government Minister's representative were in fact a bluff - trying to scare the blogs into closing down - with no legal basis whatsoever for their comments.

It was an extraordinary attempt to shutdown free political expression.

Had the majority of blogs been in favour of Mayor Thorley's failed sewage recycling scheme, it seems unlikely that there would have been any attempt to shut them down.

During the current State election, has any party made any comments regarding the need to shutdown blogs which contain political commentary?

No.

It was a biased attempt to stifle debate on the issue of recycled sewage and all those involved should be ashamed of resorting to such tactics ...

Mayor Thorley - there is water after all ...

A little over a month after the referendum, Mayor Thorley finally admits what 62% of Toowoomba voters already knew - that there are other options to her ill-conceived recycled sewage scheme.

An excerpt from comments in yesterday's Chronicle:

Toowoomba will not run out of water. That's the promise of Toowoomba Mayor Dianne Thorley after some heavy duty number-crunching this week revealed the city's existing bore production had been underestimated.

Initial predictions that an extra 20 viable basalt bores would be needed were revised and it was revealed that just 13 would successfully yield the 5000 megalitres a year required.

Remember Mayor Thorley and the Yes campaign's main argument? Toowoomba will run out of water - there are no other options to drinking recycled sewage.

Amazing!

The information regarding the bores could have been made available to the public at any time in the past 12 months while Mayor Thorley was trying to convince Toowoomba residents that there were no other options and the water was going to run out.

But that wouldn't have helped her argument would it ...

Townsville - the latest model for recycled water reuse ...

... an excellent example of reuse for non-drinking purposes.

Excerpt from the Townsville Bulletin:

Water recycle plant turns on

By Jessica Johnston
6 September 2006

Townsville is on track to become regional Australia's greatest water recycler after a multi-million dollar waste water treatment plant was opened on Magnetic Island yesterday.

The $9.5 million Horseshoe Bay plant was the first step in reaching an ambitious council plan – to recycle 90 per cent of Townsville's waste water by 2010.

About $100 million will be spent over three years upgrading the city's waste water infrastructure, which would make Townsville the nation's regional leader in water recycling.

Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney and Townsville MP Mike Reynolds opened the plant yesterday.

"This is the first major project to be completed as part of the council's plan to establish regional Australia's biggest water recycling scheme in Townsville," Cr Mooney said.

"This new facility provides good environmental outcomes by reusing waste water and conserving valuable town water supplies."

The state-of-the art treatment plant, coupled with the Picnic Bay facility, would see island residents preserve 250 megalitres of fresh drinking water every year.

The plant will produce an average of 700 kilolitres of recycled water a day, which will be used to irrigate the Magnetic Island Sports and Recreation Club and a recently planted rainforest park.

The Horseshoe Bay Rural Fire Brigade will also have a dedicated supply of the recycled water linked to the fire station.

The smaller Picnic Bay facility is already used to irrigate the island's golf course.

Cr Mooney said the plant would prevent waste water being discharged into the bay, saving the world heritage Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

See - Townsville - the next model city for recycled water reuse for non-drinking purposes.

Recycling for non-potable use - QNI needs to change its practices ...

Excerpt from the Townsville Bulletin:

Push to end QNI hold on water

By Danel Bateman
6 September 2006

It's not going to happen overnight, but it will happen.

This was the message to an estimated crowd of 150 Black River and Alice River residents who lined the stands at Black River Stadium last night to fight for their groundwater.

Residents want an end to the Queensland Nickel Agreement Act, which has allowed Queensland Nickel's Yabulu facility to use thousands of megalitres of underground water cheaply for 30 years.

They want to secure the company's use of recycled effluent, in the place of ground water, giving QNI access to water equal to 7000 individual bore licences.

Such a project was last night predicted to cost about $50 million, however representatives from Thuringowa City Council and the State Government both gave their support to drum up funding.

See - QNI running out of time.

Toowoomba Water Futures referendum – the result ...

A breakdown of the 29 July 2006 referendum result:

Total votes - 52,524
No votes – 32,330 (61.55%)
Yes votes – 19,983 (38.05%)
Informal – 211 (0.40%)

Excluding the informal votes:

No votes – 32,330 (61.8%)
Yes votes – 19,983 (38.2%)

A breakdown of the various polling booths (and voting method options):

1. Centenary Heights State High School
No votes – 1,828 (61.36%)
Yes votes – 1,139 (38.23%)
Informal – 12 (0.40%)

2. Darling Heights State School
No votes – 1,960 (61.65%)
Yes votes – 1,204 (37.87%)
Informal – 15 (0.47%)

3. Drayton State Pre-school
No votes – 629 (64.71%)
Yes votes – 339 (34.88)
Informal – 4 (0.41%)

4. East State School
No votes – 1,108 (48.17%)
Yes votes – 1,181 (51.35%)
Informal – 11 (0.48%)

5. Fairholme College
No votes – 408 (41.01%)
Yes votes – 586 (58.89%)
Informal – 1 (0.10%)

6. Fairview Heights State School
No votes – 697 (71.56%)
Yes votes – 273 (28.03%)
Informal – 4 (0.41%)

7. Gabbinbar State School
No votes – 906 (56.27%)
Yes votes – 702 (43.60%)
Informal – 2 (0.12%)

8. Glenvale State School
No votes – 776 (71.52%)
Yes votes – 308 (28.39%)
Informal – 1 (0.09%)

9. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Hall
No votes – 876 (72.34%)
Yes votes – 329 (27.17%)
Informal – 6 (0.50%)

10. Harlaxton Hall
No votes – 178 (67.94%)
Yes votes – 83 (31.68%)
Informal – 1 (0.38%)

11. Harlaxton State School
No votes – 724 (61.62%)
Yes votes – 444 (37.79%)
Informal – 7 (0.60%)

12. Harristown State High School Assembly Hall
No votes – 1,862 (66.62%)
Yes votes – 919 (32.88%)
Informal – 14 (0.50%)

13. Holy Name School
No votes – 542 (64.29%)
Yes votes – 300 (35.59%)
Informal – 1 (0.12%)

14. Middle Ridge State School
No votes – 2,086 (60.25%)
Yes votes – 1,370 (39.57%)
Informal – 6 (0.17%)

15. Newtown State School
No votes – 1,801 (65.63%)
Yes votes – 928 (33.82%)
Informal – 15 (0.55%)

16. North State School
No votes – 594 (57.89%)
Yes votes – 426 (41.52%)
Informal – 6 (0.58%)

17. Rangeville State School
No votes – 1,763 (56.56%)
Yes votes – 1,340 (42.99%)
Informal – 14 (0.45%)

18. Rockville State Pre-school
No votes – 764 (70.09%)
Yes votes – 321 (29.45%)
Informal – 5 (0.46%)

19. Sacred Heart School
No votes – 1,618 (69.32%)
Yes votes – 706 (30.25%)
Informal – 10 (0.43%)

20. St John’s Lutheran Church Hall
No votes – 1,495 (73.28%)
Yes votes – 540 (26.47%)
Informal – 5 (0.25%)

21. St Joseph’s College
No votes – 490 (54.57%)
Yes votes – 406 (45.21%)
Informal – 2 (0.22%)

22. St Luke’s Anglican Church Hall
No votes – 768 (54.90%)
Yes votes – 627 (44.82%)
Informal – 4 (0.29%)

23. St Thomas’ Anglican Church Hall
No votes – 726 (60.60%)
Yes votes – 466 (38.90%)
Informal – 6 (0.50%)

24. Trinity Lutheran Church Hall
No votes – 1,028 (60.01%)
Yes votes – 678 (39.58%)
Informal – 7 (0.41%)

25. Westside Christian Church Hall
No votes – 627 (62.89%)
Yes votes – 366 (36.71%)
Informal – 4 (0.40%)

26. Declaration (Postal) Voting
No votes – 1,682 (58.48%)
Yes votes – 1,187 (41.27%)
Informal – 7 (0.24%)

27. Declaration Votes – Section 344 (not on electoral roll)
No votes – 14 (60.87%)
Yes votes – 9 (39.13%)
Informal – 0 (0%)

28. Electoral Visitor Service
No votes – 239 (62.08%)
Yes votes – 144 (37.40%)
Informal – 2 (0.52%)

29. Mobile Polling Booth
No votes – 307 (55.02%)
Yes votes – 236 (42.29%)
Informal – 15 (2.69%)

30. Pre-poll Polling Booth
No votes – 3,711 (61.17%)
Yes votes – 2,332 (38.44%)
Informal – 24 (0.40%)

31. Suppressed Silent Voters
No votes – 123 (56.68%)
Yes votes – 94 (43.32%)
Informal – 0 (0%)

Source - Toowoomba City Council - Referendum Result.

There has been some commentary on the polling booths which returned a majority Yes vote:

East State School
No votes – 1,108 (48.17%)
Yes votes – 1,181 (51.35%)
Informal – 11 (0.48%)

Fairholme College
No votes – 408 (41.01%)
Yes votes – 586 (58.89%)
Informal – 1 (0.10%)

Out of 31 polling booths (or voting method options), only two booths returned a majority Yes vote - with total votes for these two booths (3,295) representing only 6.27% of total votes cast for the referendum.

29 out of 31 of the polling booths (or voting method options) returned a majority No vote.

Mayor Thorley, the people have spoken ...

4350water – one year on …

The 4350water blog commenced a year ago.

Read the first blog comment - here.

An amazing battle ensued as Mayor Thorley and Toowoomba City Council tried to convince people to support the Water Futures project.

They failed.

Why?

Two reasons (among many others):

1. The release of the Council’s National Water Commission funding application – following a Freedom of Information request. This document showed the Water Futures recycled sewage project as fundamentally flawed. Toowoomba City Council was then on the back foot, trying to justify the shortcomings of its proposal.

2. The blogs – the only way for Toowoomba City Council to succeed with its misinformation campaign (e.g. there are no other options, it’s done everywhere in the world, nothing gets through the membranes, the gas water is poisonous) was to control the flow of information to the public. The blogs gave the public an alternative source of information and allowed the public to see that there were two sides to the debate.

Toowoomba City Council tried many gimmicks – Singapore NEWater taste tests, free movie tickets, pizza, balloons etc. Some supporters even forced their children to drink NEWater (or was it really tap water?) for the cameras. However, no matter how many “kitchen table” talks they gave, it became apparent that the numbers attending these sessions were far outweighed by those attending the opposition rallies.

Quite simple, people don’t like being misled.

And the referendum result showed this …

Toowoomba rates a mention in The Economist ...

An excerpt:

In Queensland, with one of the faster-growing populations in Australia, Mr Beattie proposes also to build two new dams to serve Brisbane, the capital, and to pipe water 1,200km (750 miles) from the north of the state.

Yet many have criticised these proposed schemes for being too costly and damaging to the environment.

The proposal to recycle Queenslanders' sewage may also be frowned on. On July 29th voters in Toowoomba, a town in Queensland whose water is running out, voted against it.

See - The Economist - Dry as a dead dingo's donger.