Qld Opposition questions recycled water testing regime ...

Excerpt from Hansard:

Hon. Horan - NPA: This bill says that the testing and monitoring of this water will come under the purview of Queensland Health. One of the things I would like the minister to do in his summing-up is outline to us in detail to what extent the testing will change. We are looking at water that is coming from a very significantly different base. When we are looking at recycled water, we are looking at recycled sewage, recycled industrial waste water or other recycled effluent.

In the case of the normal water supplies that have been tested for generations, that was once rainwater which has gone through the various paddocks and hills of the area where there are animals, mammals, leaves and so forth and then into the dams. That water has been tested, but I am certain that in this circumstance there will need to be additional tests on this water which comes from a radically different base to keep the public of Queensland satisfied. For example, there will be issues to do with pharmaceuticals, hormones, various heavy metals, various poisons and so forth.

Will it be important that these are tested for, because we are looking at water coming from a vastly different base?

I look forward to the minister giving us some detail on the framework of the organisations that are doing the treatment and the different stages of the waste water—where it is used in the power stations or it goes through the further stream before it is placed into Wivenhoe Dam.
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The greatest responsibility in this bill is to outline very clearly the scientific regime of testing the recycled water.

Also, will those results be published? Will the public be told the approximate percentage of that recycled water in the Wivenhoe Dam?

See - Hansard - 15 May 2008 - Page 1739.