Rich harvest for French recycled water company ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail (annotated):

Rich harvest for French

31 January 2007

A Giant French company will reap hundreds of millions of dollars from southeast Queensland's water crisis, with consumers set to pay the price.

In a little-publicised deal, Paris-based Veolia Water has been awarded lucrative contracts by the State Government to run the $1.7 billion western corridor recycled water pipeline and the $1.3 billion Gold Coast desalination plant. [4350water blog told you this on 9 January - see - SEQ recycled water contractor chosen.]

The commercialisation of two of the state's biggest drought infrastructure projects has heightened fears that water prices could skyrocket.

Veolia, which turns over $42 billion a year, has revealed it expects to rake in at least $210 million ($351 million) from running the desalination plant over the next 10 years.

The windfall will be even higher if the company is granted a proposed five-year contract extension.

Water from the desalination plant – according to State Government estimates – is likely to cost about $3000 a megalitre to produce, meaning a single day's production will cost about $375,000. Brisbane householders pay $750 a megalitre for conventionally treated drinking water.

Veolia announced its involvement in the recycled water pipeline and desalination plant on its website last month, but the State Government has been silent on the details.

Gold Coast City Council has also played down Veolia's involvement in the so-called "Gold Coast Desalination Alliance".

A spokesman for Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh said Veolia was a "major international water company" and had been chosen because of its expertise in large-scale water projects.

Ms Bligh this month rejected a claim by Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Water Malcolm Turnbull that the Government planned to privatise the western corridor pipeline, which will take recycled wastewater from Brisbane to the Swanbank and Tarong power stations.

But she admitted southeast Queenslanders faced "significant increases" in water prices to pay for the Government's $7 billion "drought-proofing" plan.

"It is inevitable that the significant increase in water infrastructure will mean an increase in water pricing," Ms Bligh told The Courier-Mail.

"We are in the process of working with the Water Commission and local councils to do some work on what those increases might be and how we might spread them in a way that is most reasonable . . . to consumers."

See - The French connection.

You can drink it or buy bottled water ...

Bottled water company sales to boom.

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

Switch delivers bottlers

31 January 2007

How much will it cost to avoid drinking recycled water when the Government begins pumping it into the mains from late next year?

Experts recommend men drink 2.6 litres of water a day and women 2.1 litres. If a male consumer drank nothing but bottled Evian, his annual drinking water bill could be more than $2200. Cheaper alternatives are available, though.

Local spring water providers deliver 15 litres to the door for about $9.50. At that price, the annual cost to supply each man in the home would be well under $1000.

It's not just a hypothetical scenario.

Bottled water companies expect to be flush with cash when Queensland adds recycled sewage to its drinking supply.

Sales of natural spring water have surged in recent years and suppliers believe the controversial switch to recycled water will further boost sales.

See - Bottled water sales to boom.

With a majority of the community aganst drinking recycled water, you do the math ...

Paying for the privilege of drinking recycled water ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

Bills to spiral

31 January 2007

Households and businesses are likely to pay top dollar for the privilege of having recycled effluent put into their drinking water supply as the State Government seeks to recover the massive costs of its rush to stop southeast Queensland running dry.

New details on the estimated cost of building and operating the desalination plant at Tugun and the western corridor recycled-water pipeline suggest that the days of cheap water are about to come to a sudden end.

Government estimates put the cost of producing water from the pipeline at about $2200 a megalitre, while water from the desalination plant is likely to cost about $3000 a megalitre – or a cool $375,000 for a single day's production.

See - Bills to spiral

Bundamba plant - where's the RO waste stream going ...

Comment by Deputy Premier Anna Bligh:

Ms Bligh said construction was advancing “rapidly” around the Bundamba site, where construction on the first advanced waste water treatment plant has started.

See - Where's that pesky RO waste stream going?

For any plant built at Luggage Point, the RO waste stream will be pumped into the sea but Bundamba is a bit different.

Evaporation ponds anyone ...

Thorley's hopes dashed - Water Futures will not be revived ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Separate water treatment plant for Toowoomba unlikely

30 January 2007

The Queensland Government says it is unlikely a separate treatment plant will be built to provide Toowoomba with its own recycled drinking water.

The Government will add recycled water to Wivenhoe Dam late next year, and Toowoomba will be connected to the dam as part of the south-east water grid.

Residents last year rejected a council plan to add recycled water to the city's own dams.
Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh says it is unlikely that plan will be resurrected.

"The decision in relation to Toowoomba isn't just about costs, it's about long-term water security," she said.

"If you're connected to the Wivenhoe-Somerset system, then your water supplies are guaranteed into the future as part of the water grid.

"That was really the major thinking behind our decision in relation to Toowoomba."

See - Thorley's hopes dashed.

Mayor Thorley is forgetting one thing - the 2008 Toowoomba City Council election.

Deputy Premier Anna Bligh is forgetting two things - Toowoomba owns its dams and a future Council may not agree to using recycled water from Wivenhoe Dam ...

Food businesses given ultimatum on recycled water use ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Calls for recycled water education campaign

30 January 2007

Commerce Queensland is calling on the State Government to fund an education campaign about recycled water for interstate and overseas business.

Regional chairman Ken Murphy says food industries in Toowoomba were warned by customers against using recycled water when the town was polled on the issue last year.

Mr Murphy says the State Government needs to educate interstate and overseas consumers and businesses about recycled water.

"During the Toowoomba debate, Toowoomba food businesses were given ultimatums by their overseas customers and interstate customers that if they were using recycled water, that the customers would no longer be buy their products off them," he said.

See - Food businesses to suffer.

Beattie helps SEQ tourism in the Middle East ...

From UAE press - Sewage Drinkers.

Yes, that is the headline ...

MP Turnbull - recycled water should not be compulsory ...

Comments from MP Turnbull:

"Now, our view is that while recycled wastewater can be made safe for human consumption there's no question about that, nonetheless it shouldn't be compulsory.

So, community support, whether that's secured by consultation and through elected representatives or whether that's secured by direct vote is up to the governments involved."

See - ABC News - AM - Recycled water shouldn't be compulsory.

Victorian Premier Brack's quote of the day ...

"We have a better way forward - that is, recycling water which is used by industry and freeing up that fresh water for populations around Victoria," Mr Bracks said.

A better way forward ...

Anna Bligh doesn't understand recycling ...

Deputy Premier Anna Bligh was quoted in the Courier Mail as saying:

"Ms Bligh said the business plan showed project finances were solid, water costs were comparable to other measures and it [recycled water] was not a weather-dependent source of drinking supplies."

See - Anna - 80% of nothing is nothing.

If there is no rain, then all that is being recycled is recycled water. Figure on 80% recovery at best post-initial sewage works (that's what NEWater work on). Eventually you are recycling 80% of nothing (unless you start asking SEQ residents to consume vast amounts of beer).

Would someone in the recycled water industry please give the Deputy Premier some basic lessons in water recycling ...

Premier Beattie - Time magazine's quote of the day ...

"These are ugly decisions but you either drink water, or you die. There's no choice."

See - Time.

That'll scare 'em ...

7.30 Report - Effluent happens ...

Nothing much new from the discussion on the ABC's 7.30 Report last evening.

Premier Beattie speaks lovingly of his bottle of NEWater like it's his favourite beer.

Bruce Flegg, the doctor, is obviously not going to tell you that the pharmaceuticals he prescribes may be harmful the second time around.

Even Greg Leslie made an appearance (sans 5 year old or is she almost 7 now?)

A prize should surely go to the person who can decipher Mayor Thorley's comment:

"It will be all over Australia that we'll have some influence, not only on us, but us on reverse back over the nation."

Huh .... who is she reversing back over ...

Sunshine Coast opts out - we'll send our effluent to Brisbane ...

One Sunshine Coast Councillor has an innovative plan - send recycled water to Brisbane for Brisbane residents to drink while using dam water for local residents.

Excerpt from Sunshine Coast Daily

30 January 2007

Why not send our wastewater to Brisbane [let them drink it]

A Caloundra councillor wants the Sunshine Coast to offer its purified recycled water to Brisbane and reserve its dam supplies for the local population.

Andrew Champion said that since the Premier had admitted that the south-east had no option but to accept recycled water, it would be logical to pipe ours to Brisbane rather than siphoning supplies from Coast dams.

Mr Champion said the solution would boost Brisbane’s drinking supplies, be good for the environment and quarantine Coast dams from the water grid.

He said other councillors appeared to support the plan and it would be put to a formal vote in the Caloundra chamber on Thursday.

The idea has also been backed by Noosa Mayor Bob Abbot and Maroochy Mayor Joe Natoli.

See - Sunshine Coast Daily - why not send our wastewater to Brisbane?

Brisbane residents will think highly of that plan no doubt ...

Former SA Water chief scientist - 'water from sewage not safe enough' ...

Excerpt from Adelaide Now:

Water from sewage not safe enough

29 January 2007

The Adelaide scientist who developed Australia's drinking water guidelines says he would not drink recycled sewage and would not back its use.

As residents of drought-stricken southeast Queensland were told yesterday they would have no choice but to accept recycled water for drinking, Professor Don Bursill said there were too many risks attached to the practice for it to be introduced here.

The former SA Water chief scientist, who in 2004 oversaw a review of national drinking water guidelines and who was last week recognised in the Australia Day honours for his contribution to water quality research, says the technology that would make recycled sewage suitable for drinking already exists, but he is not confident we have the back-up systems to ensure it stays safe.

"You can turn anything wet into drinking water if you have enough money," he said yesterday. "To really ensure it is safe would cost a tremendous amount. This is one bloke who isn't going to drink it."

See - Adelaide now - Researcher won't be drinking it.

Guess he's not going to make Beattie's QWC advisory panel ...

SEQ - 1500 a week or not ...

If you believe Premier Beattie, there's a net 1500 people moving to SEQ each week.

If you believe property commentator Matusik (which is a stretch!), there has been a "declining migration intake into the southeast corner of the state", i.e. people are staying away from SEQ in droves but will happily move here for the opportunity to drink recycled water.

See - Beattie v Matusik - they can't both be right.

Which is it ...

Step 3- don't forget the taste test ...

A fairly useless test ... but helpful for convincing the uninitiated ...

MP Turnbull - will he sink or swim ...

Opinion piece in the Australian:

See - Turnbull could sink.

Toowoomba - drinking recycled water? Not in Thorley's political lifetime ...

Premier Beattie's recycled water plans for SEQ do not automatically mean that Toowoomba residents will be drinking a cocktail of Brisbane recycled water.

First, there's no pipeline linking Toowoomba to the SEQ water grid and one is not planned until 2011 or 2012 once the Traveston Dam is finished.

Second, Toowoomba would apparently not take water from Wivenhoe unless it was above 40% (and, above 40%, Beattie shuts off the recycled water pipeline - or so he says).

Third, between 2007 and 2012, there are two Toowoomba City Council elections where new Councillors will be elected and new water strategies formulated.

Toowoomba may even become a net exporter of water to the SEQ grid.

Mayor Thorley was bleating on Channel 7 news this evening that 6 months out from the Toowoomba poll, it still hasn't rained and Toowoomba has no options.

It has rained - not enough to boost the dams but enough to green Toowoomba so it doesn't resemble the desert wasteland that Mayor Thorley is so fond of telling people that Toowoomba has become. (She is such a great advertisement for Toowoomba tourism!)

Toowoomba is currently accessing groundwater supplies.

Toowoomba also has several other water source options - but while the Thorley-controlled Council sits in City Hall, they refuse to look at them.

A new Council will be able to sit down with regional Councils and discuss real options, something Mayor Thorley still does not seem able to do.

With the Council election due in March next year, it seems that Mayor Thorley's life in local government politics will be drifting off into the sunset ...

Beattie plan off the rails: tourists threaten SEQ boycott ...

Channel 7 news headline tonight.

Southern tourists threatening to boycott Queensland if it uses recycled water for drinking.

The Gold Coast Mayor is adamant that it won't be used on the Gold Coast - clearly in damage control.

One day after Beattie's announcement, the fall out commences ...

Beattie misplaces State funds- asks Feds for more ...

Seems Mr Beattie must have misplaced his funds from the recent sale of Qld electricity interests which were to pay for water infrastructure. He's now asking Canberra for a helping hand:

"Mr Beattie seized on Mr Howard's support, asking him to contribute $408 million towards a $1.7 billion recycled water pipeline in the state's south-east."

See - AAP - PM - where's your cheque book?

The politics of recycled water ...

Single-handed, PM Howard has killed off the NSW Liberals chances (however slim) at March's NSW State election with the following comment:

Mr Howard predicted NSW Premier Morris Iemma would renege on his promise not to introduce waste water recycling if he won the March state election.

And he said state opposition leader Peter Debnam would do the same should the Liberals win.

"Well, he'll do it; if he wins he'll do it," Mr Howard said of Mr Iemma on Southern Cross Broadcasting.

See - AAP: NSW Libs dead in the water.

Odd ...

Tasmania - recycled drinking water not a priority ...

Tasmania joins a chorus of States opting to steer clear of the Beattie plan to force residents to drink recycled water.

Excerpt from 7 News:

Recycled drinking water not a priority: Llewellyn

29 January 2007

Tasmania's Water Minister David Llewellyn says recycled drinking water is not a priority for the state.

Debate on the issue has flared in Queensland with the Government announcing plans to use recycled water to boost dwindling supplies in major areas.

Mr Llewellyn says Tasmania has adequate supplies and must look to improving infrastructure instead.

"With modern equipment you can actually produce very clean water from waste water systems but we don't need to do that in Tasmania because we have adequate water, there is a requirement particularly in some of our regional areas and our rural areas for water treatment of existing water supplies, so that's where we need to concentrate," he said.

"I'm confident we will always have enough water and we need to go about our business and establish our business to ensure that does happen into the future obviously, but we don't have any shortage in Hobart or in Launceston or our major centres, so our bulk water supplies are adequate and indeed adequate for the foreseeable future."

See - Ch 7 news - Tasmania opts out.

Beattie's 'liquid gold' news goes worldwide ...

For something that 'is done all over the world', it's odd that Premier Beattie's announcement of making SEQ residents drink recycled water makes headlines around the world - particularly in places where Beattie would have you believe there are long-standing planned potable reuse projects.

UK - Reuters - Australians to swallow unpalatable recycled water.

UK - Guardian - Australian state to recycle water.

Washington, DC - Washington Post.

Los Angeles, California - LA Times.

San Jose, California - The Mercury News.

How odd ...

WA - we won't drink recycled water ...

Yet another State has joined NSW and SA (and Victoria), acknowledging that there are alternatives to forcing people to drink recycled water.

Excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald:

WA does not need recycled water: Kobelke

29 January 2007

Western Australia is managing its water and does not need to start drinking recycled waste water, the state's Water Minister John Kobelke says.
...

"We can't see the need in WA, because we have the desalination plant, we have got water trading, we're putting in new bores, and our water efficiency has dropped from about 180 kilolitres to about 155 kilolitres per person, per year."

See - SMH - WA opts out.

It should be noted that WA is engaging in a 3 year aquifer recharge experiment.

Victoria - we won't drink recycled water ...

Comments from Premier Bracks:

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said people in his state would not have to drink recycled waste water because it already had a plan to manage water supplies.

"We have a better way forward, that is recycling water which is used by industry and freeing up that fresh water for populations around Victoria," Mr Bracks said.

"The reality is it's probably right for Queensland because Queensland doesn't have the industry base that Victoria has.

See - SMH - Victoria says No.

Or is it that the Queensland government has no idea what it is doing - and the 'quick and dirty' fix of forcing SEQ residents to drink recycled water seems the easiest solution ...

Gold Coast quickly sidesteps recycled water for drinking ...

... how many more parts of SEQ will do the same?

Excerpt from ABC News:

Recycled water a long way off for Gold Coast: Clarke

29 January 2007

Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke says his constituents will not be drinking recycled water for at least a decade.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says the drought is so bad, there is no choice but to add recycled water to south-east Queensland's drinking supplies on an ongoing basis.

Councillor Clarke says the Gold Coast will give water to the south-east Queensland water grid, but will not need to take water from Wivenhoe Dam supplies for many years.

"The water commission will say what water goes where, but when you have the desalination plant and what our usual yield is and the fact that we are also raising the height of the Hinze Dam [it] all adds to the fact that we won't be needing any water from the Wivenhoe, but Brisbane, or Logan, or Beaudesert, or Ipswich will be needing water from us," he said.

See - Gold Coast: no need for 'Beattie Bitter'.

Premier Beattie - recycled water - it's 'liquid gold' ...

Perhaps not the best choice of words by the Premier for promoting his 'Beattie Bitter' scheme.

Listen to the Premier defending his actions on AM this morning:

Beattie talks about his 'liquid gold'.

WSAA - recycled water and international acceptance issues ...

Why hasn't Premier Beattie or his advisers read the WSAA report:

"[S]ome high water industries will face significant difficulties using recycled water. The food and beverage processing industry, for example, must meet international standards and have rigorous quality systems in place. For mainstream supply to these industries, recycled water quality would need to match drinking water quality. For export, international acceptance would also be necessary as this is not current practice overseas."

See - WSAA Position Paper No 2 - Refilling the Glass - November 2006 - page 15.

When a No campaigner says it, Premier Beattie calls it scaremongering.

Wonder what he calls it when the WSAA says it ...

Beattie thinks legitimate questions are scaremongering ...

On Channel 10 News this evening, Premier Beattie was thrown completely off guard with a question of how food industry exporters in SEQ would fare if recycled water is used.

His response: "I say to scaremongers - don't."

He clearly had no idea about this issue. Privately, he must be seething that his advisers had not informed him of this potential problem.

With SA and NSW clearly stating that potable reuse is not on the agenda (nor is it in Victoria), how long before these States start to poach businesses in SEQ concerned about their futures ...

Excerpt from ABC News (annotated):

Beattie defends recycled water against 'scare mongers'

28 January 2008

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has tried to head off any scare-mongering over recycled water, insisting it is safe to drink.

South-east Queensland residents could be drinking recycled supplies within two years.
The State Government promised south-east Queenslanders a say on drinking recycled water, and was prepared to spend $10 million on a vote in March.

But Mr Beattie has today cancelled the plebiscite, saying the drought is so bad that there is no other choice.

He says the new water grid for recycled water is expected to be ready in late 2008.

"It just seems pointless to proceed with a plebiscite on March 17," he said.

"So we've decided to cancel the polls, so there'll be no vote.

"I apologise to the people of South East Queensland for breaking a commitment, but that was in less serious circumstances."

Mr Beattie says he is confident drinking water supplies will last until the water recycling facilities are built.

He says Government research shows 78 per cent of residents were planning to vote "yes" in the plebiscite. [Rubbish - they will never show you this research because the true figure is the opposite. Remember Mayor Thorley and her "70% support my project" statements which turned out to be completely false.]

Liberal leader Dr Bruce Flegg says he is not surprised.

"The Government has bowed to Opposition calls to stop the farce and stop the waste of $10 million," he said.

Many local councils have supported Mr Beattie's decision, but former Toowoomba mayor Clive Berghofer says the food export industry is now in danger.

"[The] Japanese won't buy our product if it's washed in recycled water," he said.

Mr Berghofer says people will be driven away from south-east Queensland by the perception of recycled water.

"Lots of people that are not coming to the city because of the water - I know lots of people have left," he said.

"Just talk around outside Toowoomba, they think we're drinking recycled water now, the press was so bad."

"It doesn't matter where you go in Australia - you talk about Toowoomba and they say that's where you drink recycled sewage."

See - I say to scaremongers - don't [or what?]

SA, NSW reject recycled water for drinking ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

SA, NSW reject recycled water

28 January 2007

Premier Mike Rann has ruled out the use of treated effluent in South Australian homes.

Mr Rann's comments come after Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today dumped plans for a plebiscite on recycled water, saying there is no choice but to introduce it permanently into south-east Queensland's drinking water supplies.

Last week, Prime Minister John Howard said Australians would eventually have to accept the need to drink recycled sewage.

But Mr Rann says it makes no sense for South Australians to use recycled sewage if irrigators in the eastern states can use river water on their crops.

"Apparently part of the plan is to allow the cotton growers and rice growers upstream to use pristine river water, but at the same time saying that treated sewage effluent water should be used for drinking water in our capital cities, well, I can veto that in South Australia," he said.

"We're using treated effluent water, we believe that it should be recycled, but we believe it should be used for irrigation purposes and that's what we're doing through the Virginia pipeline and the Willunga pipeline," he said.

NSW

Meanwhile, New South Wales Minister for Water Utilities David Campbell says it is unlikely people in his state's cities will have to drink recycled sewage.

But he says he cannot speak for regional areas.

"The New South Wales Government is able to secure Sydney's water supply without the need to force Sydney families to drink recycled water," he said.

"The Government is not the water supply authority in regional New South Wales - all the country towns, the local council is the water supply authority.

"They will make their own decisions based on local information and local circumstances."

See - SA, NSW reject recycled water for drinking.

NSW Water Utilities Minister David Campbell said there were no plans to follow suit in Sydney, where dam levels are also at record low levels.

"It's not in our strategy at all,'' he said.

See - NSW rules out recycled water.

SEQ recycled water - Beattie's political solution ..

Premier Beattie knows his numbers.

He knows that the introduction of recycled water into Wivenhoe Dam is deeply unpopular. He knows that the March plebiscite would have returned a resounding No vote.

What to do?

Backflip and try to hang your party's political opponents out to dry at the same time.

"He said Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Prime Minister John Howard, both Liberals, had supported it."

See - Beattie backflip.

Premier Beattie's decision merely postpones the recycled water vote until the next Council elections in 2008, something the Mayors were keen to avoid.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Newman, currently in favour of recycled water, faces a tough task getting re-elected on a platform of drinking recycled water. Newman's Labor opponents will be pleased, with good prospects for retaking the position of Mayor.

Toowoomba's Mayor Di Thorley, while giving the outward appearance that the cancellation of the March poll is her achievement and a victory for her ill-fated recycled water project, will be quietly contemplating retirement. Premier Beattie's decision means that the 2008 Toowoomba City Council election will be fought on the issue of whether Toowoomba should connect to Wivenhoe Dam, something not contemplated until 2011-2012. (Remember, there's no love lost between Beattie and Thorley after her disastrous referendum effort.)

In some ways, Premier Beattie's backflip is a victory for Toowoomba. The city voted a resounding No to Mayor Thorley's ill-fated recycled water project (which would have ultimately bankrupted the city) and saw no reason to vote again before the 2008 Council elections to sweep Mayor Thorley and her gaggle of Yes councillors out of office.

For the rest of SEQ, Premier Beattie's plan involves high levels of recycled water and no testing period. This is a world first experiment. The people of SEQ deserve better than to have the Premier make them the experimental lab rats for the recycled water industry which wishes to push its technology onto Australia ...

Breaking News: ultimate Beattie backflip - SEQ poll cancelled ...

Premier Beattie adopts the Singapore 'democracy' model for 'Beattie Bitter'.

It's the ultimate Beattie backflip - designed to create as much public consternation as possible in the lead up to the trials of his former Ministers.

Premier Beattie will shortly announce he is cancelling the $10 million recycled water poll and will pump up to 100% recycled water into Wivenhoe Dam.

He recognises that a complete lack of infrastructure planning has left the Beattie government in need of the 'quick and dirty' fix which is recycled water for drinking.

He knows that the polls show that his plebiscite would have been soundly defeated.

He will tell you that he has saved the State $10 million but how much has already been spent on legislation, advertising and advisers?

Will the next Beattie backflip be a shift to just using the recycled water for the power stations?

All Premier Beattie has done is ensure that the next Council elections in 2008 are fought on the single issue of drinking recycled water ...

Excerpt from the Sunday Mail:

Beattie axes $10 million poll

28 January 2007

Southeast Queenslanders will have no choice on drinking recycled water after all, The Sunday Mail can reveal.

Premier Peter Beattie is expected to perform a spectacular backflip today and scrap his plans for a controversial $10 million plebiscite in March on the water issue.

Barring a major cyclone and accompanying rains, recycled effluent will be pumped into major dams as soon as the new water grid pipeline is completed late next year.

Mr Beattie said yesterday the final details of the decision to dump the plebiscite would be made public today or tomorrow.

But he made it clear the decision in principle had already been made.

"There's no choice. The reality is there is no choice," he said.

See - Sunday Mail - Beattie's ultimate backflip.

Premier takes over - Beattie promises no recycled water secrets ...

Excerpt from ABC News (annotated):

Beattie promises no recycled water secrets

26 January 2007

The Queensland Government says south-east Queenslanders will know exactly how much recycled water they are drinking if treated effluent is added to the region's dams.

Residents will vote in March on the recycling proposal, although the Opposition predicts the plebiscite will be scrapped because water infrastructure is way behind schedule.

After earlier suggesting a cap of 10 per cent, the Government now says there will be no limit to the mix because recycled water is safe at any level.

Premier Peter Beattie says no matter what the percentage is, it will not be a secret.

"We will give the answers to all those questions prior to any vote," he said.

"The wording of the vote will not include a percentage and was never meant to."

[Compare: "Meanwhile, the Premier has revealed he is thinking about proposing a 10 per cent mix of recycled water when south-east Queenslanders vote in a plebiscite." Premier Beattie, ABC News, 1 December 2006.]

"You spell out what the vote question is and then you spell out exactly how it will apply, whether it's 100 per cent, we'll spell out all the detail of all the circumstances about what would apply."

See - ABC News - Not what she said.

The Beattie-Bligh two step ...

You'd laugh if it didn't seem so well organised.

Last night on the ABC News, Premier Beattie was back-peddalling on Deputy Premier Bligh's comments the previous day.

The ABC referred to it as a "Beattie backflip".

The recycled water personalities are already in damage control mode, trying to down play Anna's comments.

But the cat's out of the bag.

It's a shame that this is just a political game to Beattie and Bligh ...

World first - Qld may implement 100% recycled drinking water ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle (annotated):

Qld may implement 100% recycled drinking water

25 January 2007

New laws allow for desperate measures

By Rebecca Vonhoff

Rosemary Morley and opponents of drinking recycled water call the process "toilet to tap".

Acting Premier Anna Bligh calls it a necessary measure in an emergency water shortage situation.

Semantics aside, Mrs Morley says she is "horrified" by comments made by Ms Bligh that focus attention once more on the percentage of recycled water present in drinking water if the controversial water scheme for South-East Queensland goes ahead.

During last year's Water Futures debate, a 25% recycled water component was proposed.

But Ms Bligh yesterday said the Government is prepared to use up to 100% recycled sewage in an emergency situation to bolster water supplies for Queensland's south east.

Ms Bligh said the government had advice [from whom?] that in an emergency situation - where dams reached critical levels, up to 100% recycled water could be safely introduced.

"The question we have asked the Queensland Water Commission is at what point would the dam have to be for the Government to say this is an emergency and therefore we are going to have to put in recycled water even if we had a No vote," Ms Bligh said.

"At that point, we would be putting the amount of water that is available in the (recycled water) pipe into the dam.

"The advice we have [from whom?] ... this water is 100% safe [where's our guarantee?], so it doesn't matter whether (the level) is 1% or 40% or 80%."

But Mrs Morley disagrees.

"If they do this, it's going to be the first time in the world," she said.

"People should be up in arms about this and alarm bells should be ringing for everyone."

"It's complete madness that flies in the face of advice from the CSIRO, that testing should take place for three to five years before we drink this water."

"If Wivenhoe is full of recycled water, there can't be a testing period because even if Traveston is online, that dam supplies a huge amount of the South-East Queensland population with water - they can't afford for it to be offline."

Ms Bligh's comments came as she announced she would use special legal powers, which State parliament approved late last year, to fast-track a number of key water projects.

The move by the Government yesterday to use its special State development powers followed advice that inflows to Wivenhoe Dam were the worst on record.


There is nowhere else on the planet that Deputy Premier Anna Bligh can point to as a comparable example. Nowhere ...

Anna makes it clear - SEQ will drink 100% recycled water ...

On ABC News last evening, Deputy Premier Anna Bligh made her government's intentions clear.

If you thought the 25-29% recycled water cocktail proposed by Mayor Thorley was "high by international standards and would need detailed review and further studies", she's gone one better in her aim for a world first.

The Deputy Premier says there's NO limit on the percentage recycled water she would ask SEQ residents to drink - 50%, 80% - let's try 100%.

But there's no water crisis, because the QWC head says there isn't ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail (annotated):

Cap off recycled limit

25 January 2007

A maximum limit to the amount of recycled water that could be pumped into southeast Queensland's drinking supplies has been ditched by the State Government.

Admitting the region faced a water crisis, Acting Premier Anna Bligh yesterday revealed there would be no percentage cap to recycled water if the March 17 plebiscite was passed.

"The advice we have is this water, purified and treated to the appropriate level, is 100 per cent safe," she said. [Can we have Anna's guarantee on that?]

Ms Bligh's comments are in stark contrast to the plebiscite's announcement in December when Premier Peter Beattie mooted a 10 per cent cap.

The plebiscite question will ask southeast Queensland residents whether they will accept recycled water as a permanent source of supply.

However, recycled water will still be added into the region's main water catchment, Wivenhoe Dam, if an emergency situation arises.

Ms Bligh said the Government would decide within the next week what level the dam would have to be to constitute an emergency.

If current consumption rates continue and there is no significant rain, Wivenhoe Dam could be as low as 5 per cent capacity by the time the recycled water pipeline is completed at the end of next year.

Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney said he was concerned by Ms Bligh's admission that there would be no maximum limit.

"It would make it very difficult to support (the plebiscite)," he said.

Ms Bligh's admission there was a water crisis came a day after Water Commissioner Elizabeth Nosworthy claimed on Tuesday there was no crisis.

Ms Bligh said Ms Nosworthy maintained her "complete confidence" and her comments were "taken out of context".

Earlier yesterday, Ms Nosworthy backed away from her previous denial there was a crisis, saying the situation was "extremely grave". [Flip-flopping Beattie style]

Ms Bligh also revealed plans to use extraordinary power passed in Parliament last year to ensure three critical water infrastructure projects were not delayed.

The powers mean the projects – the recycled water pipeline, the Gold Coast desalination plant and the southern pipeline that will link the plant to Brisbane – will not be tied up in red tape or land owner legal action.

Ms Bligh described the enacting of the powers as an "insurance policy" against delays.

See - Courier Mail - 100% recycled water ok by Anna.

PM Howard bids for control of the Murray-Darling ...

A Federal takover in the wings.

See - SMH - PM pledges billions to fix water.

SEQ - not a very 'Noteworthy' crisis ...

The Courier Mail explains the gaffs of the QWC head Ms "Notworthy" relating to the SEQ water crisis.

See - Courier Mail - what crisis.



So when Deputy Premier Bligh says that the dams will be empty in 2008 and the majority of the water you drink will be recycled water, apparently that's not a crisis. Remember, drinking recycled water was Premier Beattie's Armageddon solution.

But there's no crisis.

Here's what Courier Mail readers think.

See - Courier Mail - comments.

Seems they're not a fan of her work so far and it looks like there's still a long way to go to convince people in SEQ to drink recycled water ...

Simon says ... hands on your hips ...

... in front of some water.

Hmmm, new Minister for Water - better get a photo of him in front of his portfolio.

What a joke.


Look at yesterday's photo - pattern emerging ...

MP Turnbull becomes Minister for Environment and Water ...

See - Turnbull - I told you so.

At least until the next election ...

UNSW report on overseas recycled water tests ...

Read the University of NSW report, commissioned by the Local Government Association of Queensland, on overseas recycled water testing.

See - UNSW recycled water report.

Drought ends in parts of western Qld ...

See - Courier Mail - Big dry washed away.

Rundown labs to test SEQ recycled water ...

See - Sunday Mail - Rundown testing facilities.

Funding for a new facility has been cut.

And these are the facilities which will test the recycled water ...

Nuttall charged: Premier Beattie's perfect (political) storm continues ...

Former Minister Merri Rose - charged.

Former Minister Gordon Nuttall - charged.

Premier Beattie - on holidays.

See - Courier Mail - Nuttall charged.

The *?*?*! hits the fan - Mayors demand water action ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

Mayors demand water action

18 January 2007

Southeast Queensland mayors are on the brink of revolt, yesterday demanding the State Government draft emergency water rationing guidelines to stop the region running dry.

They accused the Government and Water Commissioner Elizabeth Nosworthy – who admits she has no "doomsday" plan if dams drop to critical levels – of gambling on drought-breaking rain falling in the next 18 months.

The Opposition, meanwhile, called for an immediate review of how much usable water was left in the Wivenhoe-Somerset dam system.

Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney said the CSIRO should be called in to work out if ponding or siltation had cut the amount of usable water in the two dams.

Logan Mayor Graham Able, Redland Shire Mayor Don Seccombe and Boonah Shire Mayor John Brent said the Government could not merely hope for rain and that billions in water infrastructure would be delivered "just in time".

"The whole of southeast Queensland is in very deep danger. There should be a Plan B," Cr Able said.

Cr Brent warned dam evaporation rates would accelerate as levels fell further so "the end comes more quickly".

"Our backs are against the wall. A plan should definitely be in place," Cr Brent said.

Without major rain in dam catchments it is unlikely the Brisbane area will have more than 12 per cent capacity in Wivenhoe and Somerset by this time next year. At that level some power stations will have to shut down.

The Government has responded to the crisis by building a water grid, a recycled-water pipeline and a desalination plant, but all the infrastructure is due to be delivered within a month of the dams running dry in 2009.

Ms Nosworthy has declined to reveal any rationing plans, and has not even confirmed the detail of level 5 restrictions, expected in the southeast in March.

"We are continuing to closely monitor dam levels and are continuing to evaluate demand measures and supply options in addition to the programs already in place," she said in a statement.

See - Mayors demand water action.

So if the dams run out of water, just what proportion of recycled water will SEQ residents be drinking ...

NZ media: NZ prof tells Aussies how to drink sewage ...

Even in New Zealand, they think it's a joke!

Excerpt from stuff.co.nz:

NZ prof tells Aussies how to drink sewage

18 January 2007

A Hamilton academic is set to tell Queenslanders how to go about drinking their own sewage.

David Hamilton of Waikato University, an environmental expert, is on a panel advising the Queensland Government on technical issues associated with recycling sewage, the Telegraph newspaper reports in Sydney.

Prominent politicians and water experts have supported using recycled effluent as drinking water as catchments hit record lows in the current drought.

Queensland residents in the rural city of Toowoomba last July rejected proposals to recycle their effluent, despite facing severe water restrictions.

Now more than 1.7 million residents in south-east Queensland from the Gold Coast to Toowoomba will vote in March 17 referendum on whether recycled water should be part of their drinking water.

Chaired by the senior deputy vice chancellor of Queensland University, Professor Paul Greenfield, the panel of nine experts, is expected to be paid $A120,000 ($NZ136,674), much of it in travel expenses.

...

Even if the referendum is defeated, the nine-member panel will remain, Queensland Water Commissioner Elizabeth Nosworthy said.

"The panel is here because the Government has already said that in an emergency. . . we will use recycled water irrespective of the plebiscite, so we have to work on the assumption there may be occasions when recycled water is used, whether or not there is a `yes' vote," she said.

...

The Age newspaper reported that drinking recycled water was opposed by most Australians, with nearly half believing it would contain human waste and 70 per cent equating it with purified sewage.

A survey of 1000 Australians' perceptions of recycled and desalinated water showed that almost 30 per cent thought recycled water was "disgusting" and one in four believed it stained the washing. Only 11 per cent said they would be very likely to use it for drinking.

See - NZ prof tells Aussies how to drink sewage.

Gold Coast councillor - SEQ recycling advisory panel is biased ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Councillor says panel appointment pushes towards recycled water

18 January 2007

A Gold Coast city councillor has questioned the Water Commission's appointment of a panel to advise it on technical issues associated with recycled water.

The chairwoman of the council's water sustainability committee says it is further evidence the State Government is determined to add recycled water to south-east Queensland's drinking supplies.

Daphne McDonald says the appointment of a panel of experts seems to make a plebiscite irrelevant.

...

"Victoria has decided not to go with recycled water into their potable water supplies because there are other ways of introducing recycled water into the community without it going into our drinking supplies and the Gold Coast has done that."

See - ABC News - Councillor questions avisory panel.

Premier Beattie's sewer surfing circus ...

The great $10 million Beattie spend commences ...

And so it begins.

Starting with an initial $120,000 on experts in white coats to convince you to drink recycled sewage water.

Ask yourself several questions:

1. How many of the panel do not live in SEQ?

2. Do they drink recycled sewage water where they live?

3. Will those not living in SEQ be moving here SEQ to drink recycled sewage water or taking their consultancy fees and expenses and going home?

Excerpt from QWC press release (annotated):

Full membership of expert advisory panel announced

17 Jan 2007

The Queensland Water Commission today announced the full membership of the independent Expert Advisory Panel that will provide advice to the Commission on technical issues associated with purified recycled water.

Commission Chair Elizabeth Nosworthy said the panel’s key role will be to provide independent advice on the regulatory framework for purified recycled water and the Western Corridor Water Recycling Scheme.

“The panel chaired by Professor Paul Greenfield has the expertise, knowledge and experience to address technical requirements associated with purified recycled water,” she said.

[But how will Beattie address the issue that people just don't want to drink recycled water and two months is too short a period to convince them otherwise?]

“The Commission will also be drawing on the technical advice provided by the Panel on the management of South East Queensland water supply issues associated with purified recycled water.”

Expert Advisory Panel Chair Professor Paul Greenfield said the members that have been selected for the panel are world leaders in the fields of ecotoxicology, environmental science, microbiology and advanced water treatment.

The members included in the panel are:

Chair Professor Paul Greenfield AO (Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Queensland)

Professor Brian Priestly (ecotoxicologist, Australian Centre for Human Health Risk Assessment)

Professor Richard Bull (ecotoxicologist, Washington State University)

Professor David Hamilton (environmental scientist, University of Waikato)

Dr Joan Rose (microbiologist, Michigan State University)

Harry Seah (advanced water treatment expert, Singapore Public Utility Board)

Professor Mike McLaughlin (environmental chemist, CSIRO)

Professor Ian Frazer (Director, Diamantina Institute for Cancer Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, University of Queensland, Australian of the Year)

Dr Zelle Hodge (President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland)

Professor Greenfield said this panel of local, national and international experts will provide advice and assess the proposed water quality monitoring requirements for ensuring all health and safety requirements are met.

“A major part of this assessment will be to look at the capability of the proposed treatment processes to remove all contaminants of concern from the recycled water,” he said.

“We will also be making recommendations on reporting arrangements for water quality and system performance."

“The panel will report to the Commission and provide independent advice about proposed standards for purified recycled water, as well as the development of the Western Corridor Water Recycling Scheme.

Ms Nosworthy said the Commission would also seek the advice of the Panel on specific scientific issues which may arise prior to the March 17 plebiscite.

“In the lead up to the plebiscite, the Commission will be coordinating public forums, consultation sessions and providing fact sheets for the community on our website. [Sounds like some NEWater tasting sessions are on the agenda.]

See - QWC announces Beattie's panel.

Wonder if any of them will say don't drink recycled water? Hmm, not paid to say that.

What the press release doesn't say:

The panel will have cost taxpayers $120,000 by March 17, much of it in travel expenses.

The panel will meet twice before the plebiscite and also compile a report to the government by the end of next month.

See - SMH - Advisory panel costs.

How scant is the report going to be when they will meet twice before 17 March?

The Beattie sewer surfing circus continues ...

Victoria adds desalination to its list ...

Exceprt from news.com.au:

On Monday, Victorian Acting Premier John Thwaites flagged the construction of a $1 billion desalination plant on top of a $2.4 billion recycling project to supply water to the power stations of the Latrobe Valley.

See - Victoria adds desalination to recycled water for non-drinking use.

Median home prices in Toowoomba rise again ...

Remember that lovely piece of tortured logic by Mayor Thorley and the Yes campaign team:

Toowoomba home prices have risen since the announcement of the Water Futures project (from $232,500 - March Qtr 2005 to $240,000 - March Qtr 2006). Therefore the Water Futures project is good for home values.

See - Water Futures - Aren't price rises linked to our project?

The latest median home figures for Toowoomba show that prices have continued to rise since the success of the No vote:

Median home prices - Toowoomba (LGA)
$245,000 (12 months to end Sept 2006)
$235,000 (12 months to end Sept 2005)

See - Toowoomba - median home prices.

Based on the Council's logic, that must mean that voting down the Water Futures proposal has been beneficial for property prices.

Or perhaps the link previous suggested by the Toowoomba City Council was tenuous at best ...

Victoria - how non-potable reuse works ...

Copyright - www.mymodernguru.com

Victoria pushes ahead with recycled water for non-potable use ...

Excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald:

Recycled water compulsory for 40,000

15 January 2007

More than 40,000 new houses in Melbourne's outer south-east will be connected to Victoria's first mandatory water recycling scheme, state Water Minister John Thwaites says.

The move, which affects new houses to be constructed in a housing estate between Cranbourne and Officer, will save about four billion litres of water a year, Mr Thwaites said.

Under changes to planning laws, water authorities must fit a "dual pipe" system to all new houses to supply class-A non-drinking water for toilet-flushing and outdoor use.

This would cut by a third the amount of drinking-quality water used in each home, Mr Thwaites said.

"Greater use of recycled water is a key part of the Bracks government's plan to secure Melbourne's water supplies," Mr Thwaites said in a statement.

"By mandating class-A recycled water for new housing developments, non-drinking water is available for the garden, toilets and washing cars."

The recycled water will come from the Eastern Irrigation Scheme, a project in Melbourne's eastern growth corridor.

Households in newly mandated areas will be progressively connected to recycled water over the next 25 years.

The Hunt Club Estate in Cranbourne has already been connected to the scheme.

Purple taps, pipes, hoses and meters will be used to supply recycled water to houses.

Information sessions will be held to inform residents.

See - Recycled water for non-potable use.

Seems this can't be achieved in South East Queensland - the effluent state ...

Why drinking recycled water is a hard sell ...

The University of Wollongong paper - Public perceptions of desalinated versus recycled water in Australia by Sara Dolnicar and Andrea Schaefer highlights the difficulty of trying to convince people to drink recycled water.

Below is a table from this paper. Note drinking recycled water achieves only 11% support.

Likelihood of use (recycled water)

- Firefighting - 77%
- Toilet flushing - 77%
- Irrigation of golf courses - 72%
- Irrigation of recreational parks - 72%
- Irrigation of sports fields - 77%
- Watering the garden (flowers, trees, shrubs) - 70%
- Washing the house, windows, driveways - 63%
- Washing the car - 63%
- Watering of garden - vegetables, herbs - 59%
- Washing clothes, doing laundry - 40%
- Air conditioning - 35%
- Refilling/topping up the swimming pool - 29%
- Fish pond or aquarium - 29%
- Showering - 22%
- Taking a bath - 20%
- Religious/spiritual rituals - 18%
- Cooking - 15%
- Brushing teeth - 12%
- Drinking - 11%
- Bathing the baby - 11%

See - Public perceptions of desalinated versus recycled water in Australia.

Mayor Thorley used $460,000 of ratepayers' money (plus the amounts spent on CH2M Hill) to try to convince Toowoomba residents to drink a mix of 25-29% recycled water - and failed.

Premier Beattie is now embarking on a similar course, except he will spend $10 million of taxpayers' money to try to convince you to drink recycled water - potentially at a mix far higher than proposed for Toowoomba - if there is no rain.

Every statistical study indicates he will fail ...

Federal government proposes GST on rain ...

In a clear sign that the National Water Commission has lost touch with reality, an email from the NWC has surfaced which discusses the likelihood of taxing the water that runs into household rainwater tanks.

On average, when there are no water restrictions, about 30% of household water use is used outdoors.

We are being encouraged to reduce water use and reduce our dependence on dam water supplies.

Imagine the impact on water use if everyone installed a rainwater tank even just for outdoor use.

Then imagine how many people would give up on their rainwater tanks if a NWC plan to tax rain is adopted by the Federal government.

Excerpt from the news.com.au (annotated):

State fuming over 'rainwater tax' plan

14 January 2007

The Victorian Government is outraged at a leaked federal proposal to tax rainwater collected from roofs.

The idea was revealed in a leaked email seen by the Sunday Herald Sun.

Acting Premier John Thwaites yesterday warned that if water was privatised - as proposed by some federal Liberals - a tax on rainwater in tanks would follow.

The Bracks Government is furious at the mooted tax - it pays rebates on tanks as a water conservation measure.

In the email, National Water Commission chief Ken Matthews says, "Legally, all water in Australia is vested in governments." Mr Matthews' email continued: "Governments have not yet considered the capture of water from roofs in rainwater tanks to be of sufficient magnitude to warrant the issuing of specific entitlements to use this class of water. However, if rainwater tanks were to be adopted on a large scale such that their existence impacts significantly on the integrated water cycle, consideration could be given to setting an entitlement regime for this class of water."

Such a regime already exists for farmers catching rainwater and storing it in dams. A residential household version could include a licensing arrangement and taxes for those wanting to collect more than a set amount.

The commission yesterday confirmed the email was accurate.

Mr Thwaites said there were also fears the Federal Government could seize control of the resource from the states and tax rainwater. Federal water parliamentary secretary Malcolm Turnbull has said that if the Australian constitution were drawn today, control of water would be given to Canberra.

Prime Minister John Howard's environment parliamentary secretary, Greg Hunt, also has talked up water privatisation.

Mr Thwaites said yesterday the Bracks Government opposed any taxes on rainwater.

"We want people to use rainwater to take pressure off Melbourne's storages," he said. "We are encouraging people to install rainwater tanks and that's why we offer a rebate of up to $1000 on them. Greg Hunt is saying private companies should take over recycled water. If private companies were allowed to take over water they would seek to maximise profits at the expense of the public. Private companies would not want the competition from water tanks and would therefore seek to control tank water or have it taxed."

[This was certainly the case in Toowoomba. Toowoomba City Council was not encouraging the use of rainwater tanks while it schemed in the back rooms of City Hall to introduce its failed recycled water scheme. Toowoomba City Council also trod on State government plans to allow people in Toowoomba to reuse greywater, knowing that this would reduce the amount of water directed for recycling and the related profits.]

Mr Howard said in his New Year message water had to be looked at from a "national perspective".

Mr Hunt has signalled a plan to force states to recycle more waste water or allow private firms access to it.

Mr Matthews said in his email: "It is important to think of the capture of water from any source in an integrated way. If 1000 homes were to install 5000-litre tanks with an annual yield of 57,000 litres, this is 57 million litres that would not have reached a river or ground water system, or - viewed another way - is taken from either the environment's entitlement or another productive use."

See - Government plans GST on rain.

Crazy stuff but not completely unexpected. As people reduce water usage, revenues from water rates are similarly reduced. But encouraging rainwater tank use and then slapping a tax on it just won't work. If introduced, streets will be lined with disused tanks awaiting collection ...

That dog video ...

SEQ poll expanded - more to vote on 17 March ...

Excerpt from Border Mail (annotated):

More to vote on recycled water

9 January 2007

More Queenslanders will get a say on recycled water after three councils joined the March 17 plebiscite.

About 30,000 residents of Jondaryan, Rosalie and Crows Nest shires will join voters in 19 other south-east shires, from Coolangatta to Noosa, in the poll.

The poll will give voters a say on whether recycled sewage should be introduced to the drinking water system that services the southeast corner.

Crows Nest Mayor Geoff Patch, whose shire has moved to stage 5 water restrictions, said he would be encouraging a “yes” vote. [Yes, but what do his constituents think?]

The State Government said it was confident purified recycled water could be used as a safe and reliable source of supply. [But has provided no evidence to back up its opinion. Trust us?]

See - Border Mail - more to vote.

Recycled water for industry update ...

Some good news for a change:

Excerpt from Qld Business Review

Access to recycled water expands for business and industry

10 January 2007

Brisbane businesses can now access recycled water from two wastewater treatment plants and an aquifer, with a third to come online in early 2007.

Following the availability of recycled water from Luggage Point and the Darra Aquifer in November and the Oxley Creek recycled water filling station in December, the Sandgate Wastewater Treatment Plant's filling station is now supplying recycled water.

Recycled water from the remaining two wastewater treatment plants, Gibson Island and Wacol, is expected to be available by February 2007.

Once all five are online to supply recycled water, they will provide more than two million litres of Class A recycled water each day to Brisbane business and industry.

Electronic smart cards now allow approved commercial tanker drivers 24-hour access to these facilities.

Under the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) guidelines, Class A recycled water is recommended to irrigate public open spaces, golf courses, for dust suppression, and some industrial processes.

See - QBR - Recycled water for industry expands.

Let's hope they use it ...

SEQ recycled water contractor chosen ...

... and no it's not who you think it might be.

It's Veolia Water.

Press release excerpt:

"Veolia Water has been chosen by the Queensland Government to accompany it on one of the biggest recycled water infrastructure projects in the southern hemisphere. In parallel, the Queensland Government and the Gold Coast City municipality have awarded Veolia Water, in partnership with the John Holland Group, the realization of a major desalination plant."

See - Veolia Water chosen for SEQ recycled water project.

"This programme, which is a major drought relief initiative of the State Government, will enable water from treatment plants around Brisbane to be recycled and used by industry. The project, scheduled for completion in 2008, represents a total investment of 1 billion Euros for the State of Queensland.

It consists of two stages, the first one involving the recycling of wastewater from the sites of Oxley, Wacol, Goodoa [sic] and Bundamba, and the second stage involving the recycling of wastewater from Luggage Point and Gibson Island.

For the Western Corridor Recycled Water (WCRW) scheme, Veolia Water will initially provide advice to the Queensland Government for development of all installations and infrastructure, and will then become the operating partner, in an agreement where the terms will soon be defined."


Someone might need to tell Veolia Water that Premier Beattie intends to pump the recycled water into Wivenhoe Dam for drinking purposes. They do not seem to be aware of this ...

Recycled water? We're not that thirsty ...

Can Premier Beattie and the QWC changes these perceptions in a little over 2 months, using $10 million of your money?

Excerpt from the Age (annotated):

Recycled water? We're not that thirsty

7 January 2007

by William Birnbauer

Drinking recycled water doesn't wash with most Australians, with nearly half believing it contains human waste and 70 per cent equating it with purified sewage.

A survey of 1000 Australians' perceptions of recycled and desalinated water shows that authorities face a tough time overcoming the public's distaste for drinking or bathing in recycled water.

Almost 30 per cent thought recycled water was "disgusting" and one in four believed it stained the washing. Only 11 per cent said they would be very likely to use it for drinking.

The Wollongong University survey also found misconceptions about desalination, with one in five people thinking the water contained substances such as hormones or endocrine disruptors that could affect fertility.

Respondents overwhelmingly believed desalinated water was safer and more acceptable for drinking than recycled water.

However, desalinated water was also regarded as more expensive, a greater environmental concern, and worse for greenhouse emissions.

The survey, the first in Australia and possibly the world comparing attitudes to desalination and recycling, was conducted last year by Professor Sara Dolnicar from the university's school of management and marketing and Professor Andrea Schafer from the University of Edinburgh. It was funded by Federal Government grants.

Several prominent politicians and water experts have supported using recycled effluent as drinking water as catchments hit record lows in the current drought. In Queensland, recycling was rejected by Toowoomba residents last July despite severe water restrictions.

More than 1.7 million residents in south-east Queensland, from Tweed River to Toowoomba in the west, will vote in a plebiscite on March 17 on whether recycled water should be part of the water supply.

In Perth, the Water Corporation has plans for a four-year trial, which would pump 1.5 gigalitres of treated effluent into an aquifer. Acting Premier Eric Ripper said he would have no problem drinking recycled waste water, but agreed there was public concern on the issue.

...

The Victorian Government does not support using recycled water for drinking.

But Ken Matthews, chairman of the National Water Commission, told The Sunday Age: "With technology advancing, the recycling of water should be always on the agenda as a realistic water supply option for communities."

Greg Hunt, the federal parliamentary secretary for the environment and heritage, said Australia discharged about 1800 billion litres of waste into oceans each year. Melbourne discharged about 350 billion litres, about two-thirds of the amount consumed each year.

While not ruling out recycled water for consumer use, the priority should be to reuse the waste water in industry and agriculture, he said.

Survey author Professor Dolnicar said a great deal of public debate and information about the advantages and disadvantages was necessary to enable people to make informed choices.

A recent report on recycling by industry group the Water Services Association says if recycled water was to supplement drinking water it should first be placed in a buffer such as a river, aquifer or dam and be treated before entering the distribution system. Natural biological processes would allow further purification while the water was stored.

[Note: this report also highlights the possible difficulty for exporters exporting food products produced using recycled water to countries which do not engage in these practices. SEQ businesses take note.]

Another option — not advocated by the association — was to add the recycled water directly into drinking water supplies without going to a buffer.

But the health risks of this option were "excessively high".

The association's report, titled Refilling the Glass, notes that separation of drinking water from sewerage systems was the greatest public health advance in the 20th century — a hard lesson learnt from typhoid and cholera epidemics.

"With good reason, generations of Australians have been educated about the principles of hygiene and understand why we do not mix our drinking water supplies with wastewater," the report says.

But the report said advances in technology now meant that recycled water could be of "drinking water quality" but community and technical issues would have to be addressed if recycled water were to be used in drinking supplies.

See - Premier Beattie, we're not that thirsty.

Desalinated v. recycled water: public perceptions ...

Read the University of Wollongong paper - Public perceptions of desalinated versus recycled water in Australia by Sara Dolnicar and Andrea Schaefer - here.

Step 2: tell them there are no other options ...

There's Deputy Premier Bligh happily following the ill-fated Toowoomba recycled water play book:

- tell the voters there are no other options and drinking recycled water is inevitable.

Excerpt from today's Courier Mail:

"And [the Deputy Premier] warned that recycled water would be pumped into the dam regardless of the result of a referendum on the issue scheduled for March 17."

See - Courier Mail - Drink it or you'll die of thirst.

An interesting piece of political blackmail - you might as well vote Yes because we don't care how you vote anyway.

Amazing how the Deputy Premier is quickly becoming dictatorial.

Only problem is she kicks a couple of own goals (she is clearly not learning from the Thorley Yes campaign).

Seems recycled water is no longer an 'Armageddon' solution.

Now: '[t]he March vote is on whether recycled water should be used to top up Wivenhoe when it is at 30-40 per cent, and Ms Bligh stressed that "if there's an emergency governments have to act with emergency measures".'

Wasn't it less than a month ago that QWC head Nosworthy was saying that recycled water was a possible long-term option?

Wasn't the Beattie government supposed to take a neutral stance and not try to scare SEQ residents?

What about a testing period for the recycled water? Apparently the caution shown by the WA government is not something shared by the Beattie government.

Obviously if Wivenhoe Dam becomes low on water, SEQ residents will be drinking a water cocktail which includes far greater than the 10% recycled water suggested by Premier Beattie.

"The Wivenhoe system, which is at 24 per cent of capacity, is being drained at a rate of 10 per cent a year", says the Courier Mail.

So, in the absence of rain, that would mean around 100% recycled water flowing through the taps of every home, shop, restaurant and business in SEQ in 2009 (excluding Toowoomba as the connecting pipeline would not be built by then).

Don't expect them to admit that before 17 March.

Deputy Premier Bligh does however concede that it is not possible to properly clean recycled water, something for which the recycled water industry boffins will not be thanking her:

"There is no treatment process that takes absolutely everything out of the water ..."

At least the journalist got one thing right:

"Toilet-to-tap recycling is an unpopular last resort around the world. Toowoomba voters rejected the measure despite the incentive of federal subsidy."

A wonderful advertorial by the Deputy Premier designed to scare SEQ residents into thinking they have no other options and that they should be the first on the planet to drink recycled water using the scheme and the recycled water proportion proposed by Premier Beattie.

Could this be the Beattie/Bligh 'good cop/bad cop' routine? Will Premier Beattie on his return from yet another overseas trip try to calm community fears by telling us that 'of course it will rain and we're not quite at the Armageddon solution' (all the time patting Anna on the back for a job well done in his absence)?

Thing is, this approach seems likely to backfire on the Beattie government, bringing out an even stronger No vote on 17 March.

To a majority of the people in SEQ, this is a nightmare scenario for which they would never forgive the Beattie government. And Premier Beattie knows it - he knows the real statistics on the public's acceptability of drinking recycled water. You do wonder what he thinking right about now ...

Premier Beattie: don't listen to what I say ...

When it's time to vote on 17 March, bear in mind Premier Beattie's previous comments on making people in SEQ drink recycled water and ask yourself why he changed his mind so quickly:

Comments by Premier Beattie in State parliament on 6 June 2006:

"... I want to ensure that the people of Queensland are clear on my government's stance on the use of recycled water. It has never been the state government's policy to pump recycled water into dams. We are actively supporting the use of recycled water for industry. If there is a surplus, we will free it up for agricultural use, possibly in the Lockyer."

Premier Beattie then went on to say:

"I repeat: using recycled water for drinking is not my government's policy."

See - Premier Beattie backs away from recycled water for drinking.

Can you really believe anything he says ...

Victoria considers desalination plant ...

The Victorian Premier, Mr Thwaites, said today that his Government is doing a feasibility study for a large-scale desalination plant.

See - Victoria considers desalination.

Breaking news: guy who runs theatre says drink recycled sewage ...

Here's some really surprising news that's bound to make you leapt for your bottle of NEWater and guzzle it down.

The guy who runs the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Peter Swannell, says Perth's plans to conduct a recycle water experiment mean that people in Toowoomba should drink recycled sewage water.

See - Theatre guy advocates recycled water.

No real surprise as he was appointed to Mayor 'drink it or you can buy bottled water' Thorley's disbanded Water Futures Advisory Panel. You remember - the Panel which strangely disappeared once the Toowoomba referendum was announced.

What Mr Swannell fails to state in the article is that authorities in Western Australia are embarking on a 3 year experiment to see if it is possible to safely recycle water into one of Perth's aquifers, water which may take "years, possibly decades before anyone was drinking a molecule of water that had been treated and reinjected into the aquifer".

See - SMH - Perth recycled water experiment.

Should the 3 year experiment not be successful, the project would be scrapped.

And it seems community acceptance is crucial:

"[A] three-year study into health guidelines for safe levels of potentially harmful chemicals in sewage, and ensuring that treatment processes could get rid of contaminants, would be completed before the Water Corporation trial began in 2009.

The study would review all the chemicals that might be found in sewage, including the three most potent endocrine disrupters, which were found in the contraceptive pill and were likely to be present in waste water after passing through women's urine.

The Water Corporation hopes to use the trial to expand the project to recycle about 30 gigalitres of waste water a year by pumping the treated effluent into the Gnangara mound, but has promised community support will be crucial."

See - The Age - Perth authorities calm fears.

Interesting how WA is conducting experiments but Premier Beattie seems hell-bent on dumping recycled sewage into Wivenhoe Dam as soon as possible.

Mr Swannell also fails to mention that Perth now has one of the largest desalination plants in the world.

But he wouldn't mention that, would he?

And it's not even real news. 4350water reported on this over a year ago:

See - WA to investigate things Toowoomba City Council already knows.

Perhaps we are witnessing the start of Toowoomba City Council's SEQ referendum strategy. Use Mr Swannell as the public face of the Yes campaign this time around. Given that he is on the Council's payroll running the Empire Theatre, would his time spent spruiking the Yes case be considered work-related? Is that what the ratepayers of Toowoomba are paying him to do ...

Sewage plans go down the drain - Victorians say no to drinking recycled water ...

Another day: another poll.

This time, one closer to the truth.

61.6% of Victorians surveyed say they don't want to drink recycled water - a figure surprisingly close to the Toowoomba referendum results and published scientific studies.

Can it be that the public don't really want to drink recycled water after all?

Does Premier Beattie have an uphill battle trying to convince the residents of SEQ over the next two months that we should start gulping the stuff?

Excerpt from the Herald Sun:

Sewage plans go down the drain

2 January 2007

Victorians don't want to drink recycled effluent.

That's the bold assessment from the Herald Sun Issues of 2006 survey, which found that 61.6 per cent of people did not want to have water from recycled sewage flowing from their taps.

Instead, an overwhelming majority of readers would prefer that a new dam be built to ease the state's water crisis.

Opposition to drinking recycled sewage is strongest among women and people aged 13-24.

The overall opposition to drinking recycled water mirrored almost exactly the no vote result in a public referendum held in the Queensland city of Toowoomba in August.

Despite that, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is to forge ahead with another public poll on recycled water in 2008 for Queensland's southeast.

Survey respondent Catherine Reid, 21, of Pakenham, said the idea of drinking recycled effluent was repulsive. "No way. There's no way you'll ever persuade me to drink that," she said.

Support for building a new dam was almost 78 per cent, the survey found. In last month's state election campaign, the Bracks Government ruled out any new dams despite broad backing for the idea.

Sharyn Dugdale, 45, a cashier from Surry Hills, opposed a new dam.

"We shouldn't have to build dams. We should have the right measures in place to save our water," she said.

But Walter Newton, 64, of Marong, said more dams were needed as more people moved into the Melbourne area.

"It's something we just have to do," he said.

Water, or the lack of it, was identified by most survey respondents as the key environmental issue facing Australia today.

See - Victorians don't want to drink recycled sewage water.

MP Hunt: best use of sewage - on farms ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Best use of sewage 'on farms'

27 December 2006

Recycled sewage could be used for drinking if it can be done safely, but the priority should be on using it for agriculture and industry, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Greg Hunt said yesterday.

Mr Hunt said he saw no problem with recycling sewage for domestic use.

"The priority is that it should be recycled for industry and agriculture, but I have no in-principle problem with water being recycled for the potable system as long as the health authorities are satisfied," he told The Australian.

...

Labor's water spokesman, Anthony Albanese, said attitudes towards drinking recycled water were a "distraction ... given that households use less than 9 per cent of the nation's water".

"The truth is that for most of Australia, recycling water for drinking is unnecessary and a distraction from the need to progress reform," he said.

"Greater use of recycled water for industry and commercial purposes and to water parks and gardens will free up valuable drinking water, and help increase the environmental flows."

See - Best use of sewage 'on farms'.

But how do you satisfy the health authorities when there are no guidelines for the potable use of recycled water ...

CSIRO: climate change is rubbish ...

... the drought is natural.

Funny how the government, climatologists and environmentalists have suddenly shifted from discussing 'global warming' to 'climate change'.

Anyone in Toowoomba over Christmas experienced wonderful 'global warming' temperatures. Wonderful weather.

Excerpt from the Australian.

Big dry's natural, not due to climate change

28 December 2006

THE drought gripping southeast Australia is due to natural variations in climate rather than the greenhouse effect.

The finding, based on CSIRO research, undermines claims - made by South Australian Premier Mike Rann at a water summit in Canberra last month - that Australia is in the grip of a one-in-1000-years drought.

"It is very, very highly likely that what we are seeing at the moment is natural climatic variability," researcher Barrie Hunt has told The Australian, saying the CSIRO's model of 10,000 years of natural climate variability put the current drought into perspective.

"When people talk about it as a 1000-year drought, they haven't got the information. They don't understand that according to natural variability we could get another one in 50 years or it might be another 800 years, and there's no way of predicting it."

See - Australian - climate change claims wrong.