Toowoomba's bore war - the battle for honesty and transparency ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Manners digging for detail

28 August 2007

One Toowoomba councillor wants copies of the documentation on the city's failed $2.4 million Great Artesian Basin bore at Wetalla.

Tests on the bore have revealed that it's too salty and not fit for human consumption.

Snow Manners has asked the council chief executive officer Phil Spencer for a copy of the water quality test, the driller's log, the date the bore was flow tested and details of that testing.

"The announcement of the salt content of this bore coincides with a push by the mayor and six councillors to revisit purified sewage as a water solution," he said.

"I have a duty to the community as chair of Strategy and Governance and I need to have full and accurate information when considering water supply issues."

Last year's water poll decisively rejected a Wetalla wastewater treatment plan as a source of drinking water.

The mayoral candidate for the Toowoomba Regional Council wants the new council to decide the future water sources.

"With council elections less than 30 weeks away and with the amalgamation process proceeding, I think it is best to note the Toowoomba Water Task Force Interim Report and the Drought Management Strategy until after the elections are held for the region," Cr Manner said.