Toowoomba City Council's Great Artesian Fiasco ...

Toowoomba City Council has a laboratory which it uses for testing water.

Did no-one on the entire Council staff think it was worthwhile to test the bore water for salt levels once the test bore hole was completed?

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Great Artesian Basin bore works at Wetalla not completed to design

6 September 2007

Toowoomba City Council is considering legal action against the driller of the failed $2.4 million Great Artesian Basin (GAB) bore at Wetalla after it was revealed works were not completed to design.

It has been alleged Queensland Drilling Services Pty Ltd, the lone tenderer for the works, did not set one section of the casing correctly.

Councils Works Committee yesterday heard the discovery was made accidentally when CCTV scanning equipment was brought in to view inside the bore hole.

The action was supplementary to the painstaking explanation by council staff, spanning more than two hours, and culminating in a grilling by Cr Snow Manners over the bore debacle.

News the bore water was too salty to drink fuelled an avalanche of speculation, which Cr Michele Alroe labelled, "a smattering of misinformation", to undermine council.

Also rife, according to councils director of Engineering Kevin Flanagan, was an ignorance of protocols when drilling, in this case 657 metres, into the GAB which was not like "any backyard bore".

Project manager Greg Dinsey revealed all, including emails to and from consultants and all reports, yesterday. While councillors queued to praise the extensive report, Cr Manners unleashed 20 questions - many already answered in the paperwork.

Tempers flared with Cr Manners indignantly claiming: "I would have thought as councillors trying to represent the interests of the ratepayers you would join with me, I seem to always run into the situation when I raise an issue you all become so defensive and want to attack me."

Mr Flanagan and Cr Manners went head to head disputing the need for water quality testing.

"There is not a driller on this planet that, when you put a bore down, wouldn't get it tested," Cr Manners said.

Mr Flanagan retorted: "Drillers of sub-artesian, not talking about artesian practice."

Consultants were guided by the bore's proximity to the Geham bore, which has acceptable water quality.

Water portfolio chair Joe Ramia proffered the Oakey abattoir only first knew about its expensive salty bore when it started pumping.

Cr Manners cited tender forms stating council had expected to find some salt.

In what Cr Sue Englart likened to an episode of Perry Mason, she led a chorus of councillors that reaffirmed their faith in the staff.

"It' a matter of trust. We are elected to steer the boat, not row it," she said.

Cr Keith Beer said he'd spent $10,000 on a failed sub-artesian bore and walked away.

He and Cr Graham Barron agreed they weren't happy with the outcome, but urged their colleagues to move on.

See - Toowoomba City Council bore fiasco.