Qld the Smart State produces world's most expensive water ...

... and there won't be enough recycled water for drinking.

Anna Bligh and the QWC have discovered just how much of a white elephant a poorly planned recycled water plant can become.

Excerpt from the Courier Mail (annotated):

Recycled water costs most

16 October 2007

The Western Corridor recycled water pipeline will be pumping the most expensive water in Australia when it starts full operations at the end of next year.

And the cost per litre is expected to increase as more businesses introduce water savings plans, further reducing the amount of water available for recycling.

The pipeline was initially expected to deliver 230 million litres of water a day at a cost of $1.7 billion.

Now it is expected to deliver an initial 130 million litres a day for $2.4 billion.

The sharp drop in expected output reflects the success of domestic water savings in southeast Queensland under progressively tougher water restrictions.

Although the Queensland Water Commission says it does not expect further declines in inflows into the Western Corridor recycled scheme, at least one large industrial user is understood to be considering recycling its own water rather than releasing it back into the system.

[Anyone concerned about what other industrial users may be serving up for Anna to recycle?]

A Water Commission spokesman said the cost of Western Corridor recycled water should be assessed on a whole-of-life basis rather than simply on initial output levels, which should be expected to pick up once the drought breaks and restrictions are eased.

However, without additional sources of waste water, there will barely be enough water to supply SEQ's power stations, let alone provide extra potable water for 2 million residents.

[So much for forcing SEQ residents to drink recycled water - there won't be any to drink.]

National water officials are not aware of more expensive water anywhere in the world.

[But aren't these projects sold on the basis that they are more cost effective than other alternatives?]

The Queensland Water Commission has been searching without success for viable waste-water sources for the past six months - yet has turned a blind eye to one of the most obvious.

Tens of millions of litres of grey water diverted into gardens and yards each day could be sent down the drain for recycling.

[So will Anna Bligh now prohibit grey water use by SEQ residents?]

Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said it was a "no-brainer" that waste water would be scarce under tight water restrictions, yet the Government did not plan for it.

"The upfront planning on these projects has been so shoddy," she said, adding that the initial pipeline output projections were "a fantasy" in a drought situation.

"The Government was fooling residents when it masked a pipeline cost blowout with the announcement it would have a capacity of 300 million litres a day.

"The so-called increase in capacity means nothing when you don't have increased water," Ms Simpson said.

SEQ dams are on track to fall below 20 per cent of capacity next month without further heavy rain.

See - Anna's out of luck on recycled water.

While the use of recycled water for the power stations is worthwhile, Anna Bligh and her predecessor have needlessly caused concern to SEQ residents by indicating they would be forced to drink recycled water.

With hardly enough recycled water for the power stations, that seems less and less likely.

But SEQ residents still need water.

Is there a general feeling down George Street that Brisbane should have its own desalination plant ...