Coal seam gas water - a drought-proofing solution for Miles ...

Queensland Coal Gas press release:

QGC and the Murilla Shire to drought-proof Miles

22 January 2008

Queensland Gas Company (QGC) and the Murilla Shire Council (the Council) today agreed to a long term arrangement to supply more than half a billion litres of potable water each year to the town of Miles in southern Queensland. The water is produced as part of QGC’s coal seam gas extraction business in the Surat Basin.

Under the landmark water supply agreement, QGC will provide up to 1.5 million litres of purified water each day to the town utilising proven reverse osmosis technology. The deal is for an initial 20-year term and the Council will have an option to extend the agreement for a further 10 years.

For its part, the Council will construct an 8 kilometre pipeline linking QGC’s plant at Condamine Power Station to the Miles water supply network. Pending approvals, construction of the pipeline is scheduled to begin soon, with first water supplies to be delivered to Miles in early 2009.

The water from coal seam gas operations compares favourably with much of the bore water from the Great Artesian Basin, typically containing 1 500 – 4 000 parts per million of total dissolved solids. In 2006, QGC completed a reverse osmosis trial at its Berwyndale South production facility confirming that drinking water can be produced from harvested water.

QGC Managing Director Richard Cottee said the Company was committed to finding beneficial uses for its abundant water supplies, which in the past have all too often been evaporated and effectively lost.

“Queensland’s Surat Basin region has long been a land of extraordinary resources and harsh extremes.

Even if 2008 brings flooding rains, locals and farmers know only too well they could be facing parched fields and water restrictions again within a few seasons Making beneficial use of the harvested water as a result of coal seam gas operations will provide certainty of supply to the Miles residents for at least the next 20 years,” Mr Cottee said.

See - QGC and Murilla Shire drought-proof Miles.