Qld caterers offer poo-free guarantee ...

... but what guarantees will they offer once recycled water flows into Wivenhoe?

See - Qld caterers offer poo-free guarantee.

More experts - Recycled sewage ‘can’t be made safe’ ...

WA government says their system will be better than Qld.

WA's scheme will see treated wastewater injected into WA groundwater, where it will remain for 60 years before re-entering the water network.

Excerpt from the West Australian:

Recycled sewage ‘can’t be made safe’

31 October 2008

A leading infectious disease specialist has warned against the Water Corporation’s plan to put recycled sewage into the drinking water supply, saying there is no guarantee the water could be made completely safe.

Professor Peter Collignon, of the Australian National University, said yesterday although wastewater was recycled in several countries, this should only be done as a last resort because of the risks of contamination.

He said human waste contained bacteria and viruses that could cause gastroenteritis, respiratory infection and diarrhoea. Making sewage safe for drinking required a 10-billion fold reduction in levels of the microbes and biological tests were not sensitive enough to check the system.

“The technology has got ahead of the safety testing,” Professor Collignon said. Putting recycled water into aquifers was “a one-way street”.

“Just say it went wrong one day in 365, what do you do when you have all that (contaminated) water in your aquifer?” he said.

His views were backed by Don Bursill, head of the Federal Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council water quality advisory committee, who said even if the technology worked, human error, which accounted for some 80 per cent of water-quality incidents, could not be ruled out.

“There are still opportunities for problems to occur and if it can be avoided I think it should,” he said.

Professor Collignon ignited a furious row this week by issuing a warning about a Queensland plan to pump 60 megalitres a day of recycled sewage into Brisbane’s main water source, Wivenhoe Dam.

The corporation’s scheme will see treated wastewater injected into WA groundwater, where it will remain for 60 years before re-entering the water network. Recycled sewage could make up 25GL of WA’s yearly consumption by 2020.

The corporation will begin testing the technology at its Beenyup treatment works in Craigie in December next year. Sewage will be finely filtered, subjected to “reverse osmosis” to remove chemical contaminants and be UV-irradiated before being injected into the Leederville aquifer.

Corporation strategist Nick Turner said sewage was “an inherently hazardous source”. But he said the system could be shut down in a matter of hours if the chemical makeup of the water changed and officials suspected pathogens might be present.

He said the Queensland project pumped recycled sewage directly into the water supply, but in WA water would be stored underground for decades, meaning harmful bugs would be less likely to survive.

WA environmental health director Jim Dodds said recycled water would have to meet the same stringent safety standards as for drinking water.

See - West Australian - Recycled sewage ‘can’t be made safe’.

Qld government to promote use of CSG water - won't be allowed to evaporate ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Govt to crack down on mine water disposal

31 October 2008

The Queensland Government has announced plans to boost environmental protections and potentially help secure water supplies for communities in the Surat and Bowen basins.

Deputy Premier Paul Lucas says Cabinet has endorsed a proposal to strengthen disposal requirements for water generated when mining companies extract gas from underground coal seams.

He has told Parliament the policy will discourage mining companies from using ponds for evaporation.

"Ponds will only be approved if they are required as a part of a water treatment facility," Mr Lucas said.

"And if they are used, ponds must be lined to prevent soil contamination from salt and minerals.

"I'm a firm believer that using modern technology such as reverse osmosis treatment plants to clean the CSG [coal seam gas] water will allow for more environmentally friendly disposal and provide a valuable new source of water."

He says unless producers are using the CSG water, they'll have to treat it to standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency before disposing it or supplying it to others.

See - CSG water regulations overhauled.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh tells water plan critics she will drink recycled sewage ...

And pigs will fly.

Flash forward to mid-2009 and bottled mineral water will be served in chilled glasses in State parliament and in the Executive offices.

Excerpt from the Australian:

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh tells water plan critics she will drink recycled sewage

31 October 2008

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has declared "absolutely" that she would drink recycled sewage in Queensland's tap water, after doubts were raised about the safety of the state's $2.5 billion water recycling project.

Ms Bligh's defence of the recycling project followed confirmation that the cost of water to the 2.6 million residents of southeast Queensland was set to triple.

In Queensland parliament yesterday, Ms Bligh challenged critics of the proposal to introduce recycled sewage into the drinking water supply of southeast Queensland, due to start in February next year, to make their complaints to the Queensland Water Commission.

The Australian reported claims this week by Australian National University experts Peter Collignon and Patrick Troy that it was not possible to ensure that potentially harmful microbes and viruses were filtered from the water supply.

Professor Collignon and Professor Troy said the southeast Queensland scheme had no parallels internationally and that recycled water should be used only as a last resort.

"To the best of my knowledge, these academics have not raised their concerns with the Government. I encourage Professor Troy to do that, because I think it is important that we hear all sides of the debate and that people actually raise their concerns," Ms Bligh said.

She said the decision of the Queensland Government to cancel a referendum on the introduction of recycled sewage to the drinking supply of southeast Queensland was "one of the single most popular things this Government ever did".

"I have never had so many letters and emails to my electorate office thanking me for cancelling the referendum. If people remember, everybody said: 'Just get on with the job. We just want you to build it. Just do it.' And that's what we did."

Ms Bligh also told the Cairns sitting of the Queensland parliament that Professor Collignon had falsely claimed to The Australian there was no real-time monitoring of water test results, and that Queensland would be the only place in the world where recycled water would be drunk.

However, Professor Collignon, an eminent microbiologist, made no such claims. He said that there was no real-time testing -- as opposed to monitoring -- in the scheme proposed for southeast Queensland and that recycled water schemes operating overseas were not the same as that proposed for Queensland.

An analysis of Queensland Water Commission figures shows the price for bulk water for Brisbane will rise from $902 per megalitre this financial year to $2755 in 2017-18.

The price was $628 per megalitre earlier this year. Bulk water accounts for less than half the average residential water bill. The cost hikes arise from the $9billion price tag on the Government's plan to drought-proof southeast Queensland.

The plan includes the $2.5billion Western Corridor Reycled Water Project, which will ensure that recycled sewage constitutes up to 25per cent of the region's drinking water next year.

University of NSW chemical scientist Greg Leslie said yesterday while it might be true there were no directly comparable schemes overseas, there were some that used substantial quantities of recycled water without encountering health problems.

Dr Leslie worked for seven years on water projects in Orange County, California, one of several overseas schemes cited by the Queensland Government in defence of the western corridor project.

Dr Leslie said that in Orange County underground aquifers were replenished with recycled water, while in Queensland water would be pumped into an open dam.

"The recycled water is as safe if not safer than water which would otherwise be available," Dr Leslie said. "In Richmond in NSW, 50,000 people are drinking water which has been dumped 17km upstream from the Penrith Sewage Treatment plant into the Nepean River."

See - Anna will drink recycled water for the cameras but not otherwise.

Might have known Dr Leslie would have to butt in.

It really is all the usual suspects.

Remember he said recycled water was so safe he'd let his 5 year old drink it. She must be 7 or 8 now. She was never going to drink it because Dr Leslie never intended to move to Toowoomba.

He beat a hasty retreat from the debate when his corporate connections were disclosed (although in fairness the Toowoomba City Council were the ones trumpeting his 'independence').

Just like old times ...

Anna Bligh sends Toowoomba ratepayers $112 million invoice ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Bligh sticks us with $112m water bill

30 October 2008

Work continues on the south-east Queensland water grid to supply Toowoomba with recycled water.

Toowoomba ratepayers will be forced to fork out $112 million for a recycled water pipeline that they didn’t want.

The Bligh Government yesterday announced that it would contribute "up to" $75 million of the $187 million pipeline project linking Cressbrook Dam to Wivenhoe Dam.

This would mean ratepayers might have to pay at least $69 a year extra in water rates.

Toowoomba voted against using recycled water at a Toowoomba City Council referendum in July, 2006.

Deputy Premier Paul Lucas said it would be up to the Toowoomba Regional Council to determine its own "retail price path for ratepayers".

Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Peter Taylor met with the Water Commission yesterday afternoon.

He said the State Government was never going to build the pipeline for free.

"It would be unreasonable to ask for a free pipeline, that would be a fantastic gift for Christmas but an unreasonable expectation."

He said the council would now look for ways to finance the $112 million gap.

Cr Taylor said the TRC would approach the Commonwealth Government to help with the funding.

"It (the State Government funding) is a significant offer but we need to work through the detail about what it means to our residents.

"This council supports the construction of the pipeline and we’re pleased (the State Government) has made the decision to help with the funding."

Mr Lucas said the Toowoomba Regional Council had made it very clear it wanted to retain ownership of its water assets which would include this pipeline.

The council did not want to join the South-East Queensland water grid at this stage.

Cr Taylor said the Toowoomba region had water assets worth more than a billion dollars.

The State Government’s proposal did not include seizing those assets.

Mr Lucas said the pipeline would be able to supply up to 14,200 million litres of water a year if needed, which was more than 50 per cent of Toowoomba’s current demand.

He said the pipeline would be commissioned and fully operational by the end of January, 2010.

See - Bligh sticks us with $112m water bill.

And what is the Toowoomba Regional Council saying - 'thank you Anna, please beat us up some more, we like it, we're not here to stick up for ratepayers, we'll do whatever you tell us to' ...

Former Toowoomba Mayor's house - can't sell or rent it - time to auction it ...

AUCTION - 29 November 2008 - 1.30PM

6 Cottesloe Street East Toowoomba.

See - Realestate.com.au - Former Mayor's house up for auction.

Debate flares up over south-east Qld recycled drinking water ...

For audio - see - Annie Guest reports debate has flared up over south-east Qld recycled drinking water.

(If moved, search under recent audio.)

Excerpt from ABC News:

Debates flares up over SE Qld recycled drinking water

The World Today - 29 October 2008
Reporter: Annie Guest

ELEANOR HALL: Back home now, and as water authorities in Brisbane prepare to switch to recycled water, a water expert has raised concerns about its safety.

South-east Queensland will be plugged in to a new recycled water supply from early next year.

But Emeritus Professor Patrick Troy from the Australian National University warns the water could contain harmful bacteria.

Others though argue that safety checks built into water treatment plants will prevent any impurities from reaching consumers.

In Brisbane, Annie Guest reports.

ANNIE GUEST: It is a done deal, millions of dollars have been spent, south-east Queenslanders will be drinking recycled sewage water next year.

But if you thought the debate about recycled water was over, think again.

PATRICK TROY: Why take those risks, when there's so much contention and so much disagreement in the community about it. Why take that risk when you don't need to.

ANNIE GUEST: Patrick Troy is an emeritus professor of urban planning at the Australian National University.

He labels as scandalous the Queensland Government's abandonment of a proposed water referendum.

With dwindling rainfall and a surging population, it did away with a vote and began building facilities to treat and deliver purified recycled water and desalinated water.

A $9-billion water grid will ultimately connect the major centres of Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Toowoomba will also be plugged into the supply of up to 25 per cent recycled sewage water, despite voting 'no' to a local plan two years ago.

Professor Troy says two and half million south-east Queenslanders will face unnecessary health risks.

PATRICK TROY: The sewage treatment plants take out about 92 per cent of the waste material, that leaves at risk eight per cent. And the supposition is that once it's put in it will be diluted to yet a lower level of concentration which thereby reduces the risk to the population.

But I repeat, there is no long-term epidemiological research which suggests that this is a reliable, or that it ultimately is a cost effective way of providing a water service.

ANNIE GUEST: Now you say that there's no long-term research to prove that it is safe, but is it not proof enough that there are other cities in the world that have been using recycled drinking water for some time?

PATRICK TROY: No, it's not. Just because other people have accepted those risks, doesn't mean to say that those risks, that that risk is acceptable.

I just think that this is bizarre that we go through this process, when there's, we actually drink a very small percentage of water.

We could use recycled water for example for toilet flushing or for showering, or for gardening. We don't and that's the point that I'm raising, you don't need to do, you don't need to take these expensive solutions.

There are better, more environmentally sound solutions to the water supply problem.

ANNIE GUEST: It is indeed a divisive issue, among microbiologists, other academics and the community.

Professor Brian Priestly is on the Queensland Government's expert water advisory panel. He's an eco-toxicologist at Monash University and he disagrees with Professor Troy.

BRIAN PRIESTLY: Well I haven't seen the basis for his statements, but I'm familiar with the processes that are being established in south-east Queensland for the recycled water project, and I have seen no evidence at all that that would be the case.

In fact, the multi-barrier approach that's being used would quite effectively remove all pathogenic organisms as well as all relevant chemicals.

ANNIE GUEST: Now you've said that you agree with those microbiologists who argue that drinking recycled water is safe, your expertise is in the area of chemicals, how can you be sure they're right?

BRIAN PRIESTLY: Well, I've seen the performance characteristics of the barrier approaches and the evidence that I've seen clearly indicates that there is virtually complete removal of all pathogenic organisms and viruses.

There are adequate monitoring and safe guards to ensure that it does work effectively and that there are multiple barriers involved to cover any contingencies.

ANNIE GUEST: Do you mean so that if the first barrier fails, the second barrier kicks in?

BRIAN PRIESTLY: Yes, I mean to say it's based on a multi-barrier approach so that there is a degree of redundancy built into the system.

ELEANOR HALL: That's Professor Brian Priestly from Monash University, ending that report from Annie Guest in Brisbane.

See - Debates flares up over SE Qld recycled drinking water.

Experts go head to head and yet the Qld government would have you believe that everyone agrees with Anna's view ...

SEQ recycled water - watch Anna Bligh 'kick the messenger' ...

4BC radio discussion with Prof. Collignon on recycled water ...

See - 4BC radio - Prof. Collignon discussion.

Anna Bligh's government to Dr Stuart Khan - help us trash the expert ...

That seems to be the case.

See - Water Recycling blog - Qld government on the phone.

The Qld government's on the phone to the academics. Help us trash the reputation of another expert. He's not on our 'team'.

It's interesting that the Bligh government seems more interested in trying to destroy people who speak out against Anna's recycled water project than engaging in discussion about recycled water with the community.

Then again, this is a government which has legislated to remove any government liability if something goes wrong with the recycled water experiment so why are we not surprised ...

Anna Bligh's legacy - Flush then drink in the Sunshine State ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Flush then drink in the Sunshine State

30 October 2008


Peter Collignon is a worried man. "Nobody in the world has done what southeast Queensland is about to do," says the eminent microbiologist and Australian National University professor of clinical medicine. "What is about to happen is the reversal of 150 years of public health policy in Australia because sewage will be put into the drinking water of more than two million people. Everywhere else in the world, the emphasis is on keeping sewage out of drinking water. We should be concerned about what Queensland is doing, especially as it is being looked at by the rest of the country as a solution to water supply problems."

In February, southeast Queenslanders will become the first Australians to drink their own waste when 60 megalitres of recycled sewage a day is pumped into Wivenhoe Dam, Brisbane's main water source.

The total volume will rise to 230ML a day later in the year. Although much of it will be used by the Swanbank and Tarong North power stations - which began receiving recycled water last year - between 10 and 25 per cent of the drinking water in Australia's fastest growing population centre will soon be comprised of treated sewage.

The $2.5 billion Western Corridor Recycled Water Project, comprised of 200km of underground pipes linking three advanced treatment centres and nine pumping stations, is the third biggest advanced water treatment project in the world.

Collignon insists that contrary to claims by the Queensland Government, the project is unprecedented. "Nowhere in the world is the proportion of drinking water that is recycled sewage anything like 10 or 25 per cent. There's never been a population of this size that has been subjected to this."

Collignon rejects government claims that a seven-stage treatment process will ensure the water is safe. He raises three major health concerns.

Collignon says the technology is not available to detect minute quantities of viruses, some potentially fatal, which may enter the water supply. "The quantity of virus must effectively be reduced 10 billion-fold to make it safe. If you have a 1 per cent leakage through a tear in the reverse osmosis membranes, then the water is not safe."

The second area of concern raised by Collignon is the delay of one or more days before the results of tests for E.coli and other dangerous bacteria can become available.

"By that time, you will have substantial quantities of contaminated water in the dam and although you can do things to reduce the damage, there is potential for infections to get through. There will be no real time testing being done to get results immediately."

Third, Collignon says it is inevitable some antibiotics and other natural and man-made chemicals will not be filtered out. "It is of concern if various estrogens and hormones are being recycled, and it is not good if antibiotics and other drugs are being recycled."

Collignon concedes Queensland's treatment system is the best in the world. "If you're going to have it, there's no better system, but that's not the point. Putting sewage in drinking water is a very high-risk activity and should be used only as a last resort. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, I'm sure the system will be fine, but if something goes wrong, the implications are very big indeed."

Collignon says there are other water sources that are safer and cheaper.

"They could use the same reverse osmosis system to treat brackish water from the Brisbane River at much less cost. They don't need to use sewage. Sewage is the worst thing you can put into drinking water."

The dire water supply situation in southeast Queensland came about because planners had never envisaged it would rain so little over such a prolonged period that dam levels would drop to the unsustainable levels that forced residents on to the nation's first level-six restrictions last year. The problem has not been lack of rainfall so much as where rain has fallen. The Gold Coast's Hinze Dam and Sunshine Coast storages have plenty of water after heavy coastal falls, but the rain has not extended the short distance inland to the Wivenhoe Dam catchment.

The state's $9 billion plan to drought-proof the southeast includes a desalination plant on the Gold Coast and the controversial Traveston and Wyralong dams in addition to the recycling project. The average proportion of drinking water to be supplied by dams in the region will fall from 95 to 75 per cent.

In a development that angers Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast residents, a water grid will link their storages with the Wivenhoe Dam and Brisbane's supply, ensuring that recycled water is distributed throughout the region. In any event, the Queensland Water Commission's long-term strategy envisages pumping treated sewage directly into Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba storages.

Toowoomba is where a debate over the issue reached its climax when a referendum of residents in 2006 rejected recycled water for drinking, with 62 per cent voting no. In a recent bid to address its increasingly chronic water shortage, the city has become the first large urban centre to draw town water from the Great Artesian Basin.

Toowoomba will be connected to the southeast Queensland water grid in 2010.

"It's very annoying that we're going to get lumbered with this when we rejected it so firmly in the first place," says Toowoomba businessman Clive Berghofer, who donated $20,000 to the no case campaign before the referendum.

"Think about it. Bodily fluids that are drained from people when they die will be put into the water that we have to drink."

Berghofer is one of a number of prominent Toowoomba citizens who have backed a continuing campaign against recycling. Last year, 500,000 copies of a glossy booklet called "Think Before You Agree to Drink" were distributed in southeast Queensland. The booklet reported the results of scientific studies it claimed had supported the case against drinking recycled water. However, the campaign was damaged at the time when The Australian revealed that four scientific experts quoted in the publication in fact supported the drinking of recycled water.

The recycled water issue is not a public issue today largely because southeast Queenslanders are convinced that the challenges of climate change are such that there is no alternative. The Liberal National Party Opposition believes recycled water should be used only for industrial purposes but is reluctant to trumpet its views. LNP strategists are concerned the issue will split the party, pitting pro-recycling Liberals against Nationals who strongly oppose the project.

Australian National University urban research professor Patrick Troy says people reject recycled water whenever they are given the opportunity of a vote, which is why former premier Peter Beattie reneged on a promise for a referendum for southeast Queensland.

"Not only are people being forced to drink it, they are being denied any say and their legitimate concerns are ignored," Troy says.

Troy says the answer to the water supply crisis is to encourage the use of rainwater tanks and the recycling of grey water for gardens. Southeast Queensland residents had demonstrated they were prepared to reduce demand, having slashed water consumption by two-thirds to less than the water commission's target of 140L per person per day.

"If everyone in Brisbane had to install a 5000 or 10,000L tank, that would solve the water problem."

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday rejected Troy's claims and launched a personal attack on the academic.

"These are ill-informed comments by somebody who has no expertise in the field of water treatment," Bligh says.

"The water processes that have been put in place to underpin our project are the best in the world. All of the science that has been done on this around the world where it has operated for 40 years, in places like California, shows that it is safe."

ANU economics professor Quentin Gratton says the experience of southeast Queensland mirrors a national problem: "It is nonsensical to be spending billions on these water infrastructure projects when the issue is demand. What we need to do is to reduce demand by charging appropriate prices."

Queensland Water Commission chief executive John Bradley says 220,000 southeast Queensland homes had been retro-fitted with rainwater tanks - about 25 per cent of the total, compared to 7 per cent in Melbourne - and new homes will need to have tanks plumbed in. "Rainwater tanks can provide a role in reducing demand but we need a diversity of sources in order to reliably provide potable water to residents," Bradley says.

Bradley rejects the claims by Collignon that the filtering process will not prevent contamination. "This is state-of-the-art technology being overseen by a panel of experts. These processes will reduce viruses and other contaminants to levels that will be below those that have been set. All testing on the western corridor scheme is showing that it will effectively remove contaminants to meet the stringent standards of the Australian recycled water guidelines."

The expert panel head, University of Queensland vice-chancellor Paul Greenfield, says the existing water supply is already being contaminated by run-off from feedlots, animal wastes and other sources in dam catchments.

"There are microbes in the dams now. We have a very advanced treatment process that will ensure water is cleaner than what is presently in the dams. We are using very sophisticated technology and we will have very close monitoring."

However, Greenfield is unable to give a guarantee the water will be safe. "We can only talk about improbabilities. There is always some risk with water. When you go overseas, you worry about water and that's why you buy bottled water. The difference here is that we haven't had to worry about water."

See - The Australian - Flush then drink in the Sunshine State.

How will Anna Bligh attack Prof. Collignon ...

SEQ - Disease expert warns on recycled sewage ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Disease expert warns on recycled sewage

30 October 2008

One of Australia's leading infectious disease experts has claimed technology does not exist to prevent recycled sewage from contaminating the water supply of 2.6 million residents in southeast Queensland.

In February, they will become the first Australians to drink their own waste when 60 megalitres a day of recycled water will be pumped into Brisbane's main water source, Wivenhoe Dam.

Under state government plans, recycled water will account for between 10 and 25 per cent of the region's drinking water supply.

Australian National University microbiologist Peter Collignon said yesterday he had major concerns about hundreds of viruses that could be present in the water.

"I don't believe the technology is there to ensure there are no problems," he said.

When Queensland Premier Anna Bligh was asked if she could guarantee the safety of recycled water, she said: "The scientific advice to me is that this can be guaranteed to be as safe as anything else that comes out of our taps at the moment."

Professor Collignon rejected claims by the Queensland Government that the project was comparable with recycled water schemes overseas.

Singapore, one of the examples often cited by Queensland, had a "very different" system, he said. Waste water was pumped through a pipeline separate from Singapore's reticulated system - unlike in southeast Queensland - and accounted for less than 1 per cent of the city state's dam capacity.

Professor Collignon said the Namibian capital of Windhoek, located in a desert, had the only comparable system.

"Brisbane has many times the rainfall of Windhoek," he said. "There's no need for Brisbane to be putting sewage into drinking water. There is nowhere else in the world where a large population is being forced to accept a situation where 10 or 25per cent of their drinking water is recycled sewage."

Professor Collignon said viruses that could contaminate the water supply ranged from bugs that caused gastroenteritis to potentially fatal infections leading to encephalitis and heart disease.

Test results for hazardous bacteria such as E.coli would not be available to authorities for at least a day, he said. "By the time the results come back, the water is already in the reservoir."

The Australian reported yesterday a claim by Australian National University emeritus professor Patrick Troy that it would not be possible to remove all biologically active waste molecules from the system.

Professor Troy was attacked yesterday by Ms Bligh, who dismissed his claim as "ill-informed comments by somebody who has no expertise in the field of water treatment".

Ms Bligh said the seven-stage water filtering scheme would ensure water was not contaminated. "The water processes that have been put in place to underpin our recycling project are the best in the world," the Premier said.

"They are consistent with projects of a similar nature overseas that have been operating for 40 years, and which have been scientifically tested and proven to be safe."

University of Queensland vice-chancellor Paul Greenfield, who heads an expert government advisory panel on recycled water, said that it was not possible to guarantee the safety of recycled water.

"We can only talk about improbabilities," Professor Greenfield said.

He believed the screening process was sufficient to prevent contamination. "We will have additional processes and monitoring which will ensure the risks are no higher than what people face now," he said. "The water after the fifth barrier in the seven-stage process will satisfy drinking water guidelines, and then there are another two stages after that."

See - Disease expert warns on recycled sewage.

But no guarantees ...

Anna Bligh recycled water defence - he's not one of our experts ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Bligh says academic ill-informed on water claims

29 October 2008

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has dismissed the credentials of an academic who has cast doubt on the safety of recycled water.

Australian National University Professor Patrick Troy says it is impossible to remove all biological waste molecules before the water is added to south-east Queensland dams next year.

Ms Bligh says she has had fresh advice from Government scientists.

"I'm very disappointed with ill-informed comments by somebody who has no expertise in the field of water treatment, from someone whose expertise is in town planning," she said.

"His claims relate specifically to current water treatment of sewage, not to the water treatment that will be done in our recycling project."

The State Government will begin pumping tertiary-treated recycled water into dams early next year.

But Professor Troy says there is no guarantee on the osmosis technique.

"Although this reverse osmosis technique is a step up, the fact remains that it's not absolutely guaranteed," he said.

"The fact is that we don't know what the long-term effect will be of the operation of these systems."

See - He's not one of Anna's experts.

Remember the Qld government won't guarantee the recycled water.

In fact, they have enacted legislation which doesn't require the government to notify the public about any problems with recycled water and absolves them of any liability.

Clearly, a lot of faith in their product ...

Water commission ready to tap recycled waste for residents of southeast Qld ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Water commission ready to tap recycled waste for residents of southeast Queensland

28 October 2008

A total of 2.6 million residents of southeast Queensland will become the first Australians to drink their own waste, as about 60 megalitres of recycled sewage a day will soon be pumped into their water supply.

The Queensland Water Commission said the recycling process would go through seven levels of purification, ensuring the water was safe to drink for the people of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and other centres in the region.

Opposition to the move has been surprisingly muted, given the furore that surrounded a 2006 referendum in Toowoomba, when 62 per cent of residents voted no to recycled water.

Even though they voted against the use of recycled water, Toowoomba will be forced to take it from the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project -- the largest scheme of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

The first recycled water will be pumped into Wivenhoe Dam, Brisbane's major water source, in February. Queensland Water Commission chief executive John Bradley said yesterday recycled water would initially account for about 10 per cent of the region's domestic supply.

Wivenhoe Dam was at 27 per cent capacity yesterday. Good rains this year in coastal southeast Queensland have done little to replenish the storage.

The region would depend on recycled water for as much as 25per cent of its needs if dam water returned to very low levels.

Mr Bradley said about 60ML a day of recycled water would initially be pumped into the dam, with a similar quantity being supplied to the Swanbank and Tarong North power stations.

The volume would rise to about 230ML a day next year, with much of it used either by the power stations or irrigators in the Brisbane and Lockyer valleys.

Mr Bradley said the plan for recycled water had wide community support.

"People are embracing sources of water that previously were not on the table," he said. "They understand this is necessary as a result of climate change and the uncertainty of rainfall."

Recycled water will be released when a management plan has been approved by the specially created Office of Water Supply Regulator.

A report submitted to the federal Department of Water by consultants Marsden Jacob Associates in June concluded that Queensland would be the only state to reach the commonwealth's target of recycling 30 per cent of water used by 2015.

NSW was the state most behind with the target.

The report said it was likely 24 per cent of water would be recycled nationally by 2015, mostly for industrial use.

In Victoria, a leading water academic has urged the Brumby Government to consider using recycled sewage for drinking water, and dismissed calls for extra dams for Melbourne.

Melbourne and Monash University specialist John Langford said using recycled sewage had helped provide Singapore with extra drinking water [at 1% only], and should also be done in Melbourne.

See - QWC ready to tap recycled waste for residents of southeast Qld.

Premier Anna Bligh warned about recycled water - it's time to be sensible ...

When the Toowoomba City Council advocated putting recycled water into the city's drinking water supply, they reluctantly agreed to a 3-5 year testing period before introducing it for potable reuse.

The Water Futures project was canned following the successful 'No' campaign in 2006.

And it is perhaps fortunate that it was canned as it would have most likely bankrupted the Garden City with poor budgeting, cost overruns, the need for evaporation ponds and an expensive 'edutainment' centre where the recycled water companies would have advertised their technology at ratepayer expense.

It really was Toowoomba's Bridge to Nowhere.

About the only benefit may have been the spin-off for the careers of the two main proponents of the project.

But that aspect was scuppered as well.

Now Anna Bligh seems hell-bent on pumping recycled water into Wivenhoe Dam.

And with no testing period.

Recent feedback on local radio in Brisbane shows how deeply unpopular Anna Bligh's decision will be.

And the outcry in the southern press is increasing.

The failure to include testing for a similar period to that proposed for the ill-fated Toowoomba scheme may be regarded by voters as reckless.

There is nothing to prevent Anna Bligh conceding that a lengthy testing period should be implemented.

And if Anna's recycled water is so wonderful, why would she be afraid of extensive testing?

The bulk of the recycled water will be pumped to the power stations.

Combined Brisbane dam levels are around 40% so Peter Beattie's Armageddon scenario is yet to materialise.

The Hinze Dam is almost full and the Gold Coast's desalination plant will soon come online.

There is clearly no great rush to pump recycled water into Wivenhoe Dam.

The only urgency seems to be coming from the Bligh government and the recycled water companies who want to get recycled water into the drinking water supply asap so they can declare it a fait accompli.

It's the Singapore model with just about the same level of democracy. But in Singapore it's only 1%.

The Bligh government risks an outbreak of anti-Labor sentiment at a time when Anna Bligh's popularity stakes are waning and the Labor Party is looking increasingly battered in most States and fairly incompetent in Canberra.

Sure she has a parliamentary majority which will probably survive a voter backlash and a swing to the LNP at the next election.

But can she be so sure?

Anna's PR spin team will no doubt be polling extensively on the issue over the next few months ...

Qld government warned about recycled water - LNP will turn off the tap if elected ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Recycled sewage 'will have bugs', Queensland Government warned

29 October 2008

An authority on water infrastructure has claimed it is not possible to prevent potentially harmful organisms from entering southeast Queensland's water supply when recycled sewage is added to it in February.

Australian National University emeritus professor Patrick Troy said it was scandalous that the region's 2.6 million residents were not offered a vote in a referendum on recycled water.

In the first project of its kind in Australia, recycled water will soon account for up to 25 per cent of southeast Queensland's drinking water.

The first recycled water will be pumped to the Wivenhoe Dam, Brisbane's main water source, in February.

Under the $9 billion water grid being set up in southeast Queensland, the water storage systems of the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast will be combined so that water can be shuffled between the three cities.

At present, water can only go one way, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, an arrangement that started when the Gold Coast's main source, the Hinze Dam, ran dry four years ago.

Despite the fact the Hinze Dam, which generally receives more rain than those in the other areas, is almost 95 per cent full, Gold Coast residents could receive drinking water that contains recycled sewage when the Hinze Dam levels fall again.

Recycled sewage is already used to provide Singapore with extra drinking water.

Professor Troy said the safety of recycled water had not been proved in any long-term epidemiological studies.

"It will not be possible to remove all biologically active waste molecules from the system," Professor Troy said.

"The probability is that something like 8 per cent of these impurities will get through, and that is assuming the system is working properly."

Professor Troy said residents with allergies would be particularly at risk of infection. "What's happening here is that the authorities are playing Russian roulette with the health of the population," he said.

"It is a scandal that former premier Peter Beattie promised the people of southeast Queensland a say in a plebiscite and then backed away from that promise.

"The residents of Toowoomba rejected the notion of drinking recycled shit by a large margin in a 2006 referendum when they were given the opportunity."

Professor Troy said the "hugely expensive" recycled water project was unnecessary and a waste of public money.

"This is all being driven by a technological obsession that big engineering projects offer the only solutions to water shortages," he said.

"If everyone in Brisbane had rainwater tanks and grey water was recycled for the garden, there would be plenty of water."

State Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg signalled that the Liberal National Party would scrap the project if it won next year's election.

"I've always said that the useof recycled water should be a last resort," Mr Springborg said yesterday. "Recycled water should only go to industrial uses."

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said her Government would not back away for its support for the project.

Ms Bligh said recycling was a necessary part of the solution to providing for the needs of the rapidly growing population of southeast Queensland.

"Queensland is an economic powerhouse that will continue to expand," Ms Bligh said.

"To keep up with the population growth we need to use desalination plants, we need recycled water and we need to build the proposed dams."

Paul Greenfield, who heads an expert committee advising the Government on the safety of recycled water, rejected suggestions it was unsafe.

Professor Greenfield, vice-chancellor at the University of Queensland, said the seven-stage filtering process ensured harmful microbes were not drunk by the public. Advanced oxidation would be a further barrier to contamination.

"There is no higher risk than what is currently faced with the existing supply," he said.

See - Recycled sewage 'will have bugs', Queensland Government warned.

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election - John McVeigh throws his hat in the ring ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

McVeigh, Jones join race for council

28 October 2008

Former Clifton mayor Ian Jones yesterday confirmed many people's predictions by nominating for the Toowoomba Regional Council by-election in December.

Darling Downs businessman John McVeigh also nominated yesterday for the TRC position left vacant after the sudden death of Councillor Ian Orford this month.

Mr Jones said he was impressed with the support he received in his campaign for mayor earlier this year, despite what he called “the clever No Snow” strategy where people were encouraged to avoid splitting the vote between the alternative candidates.

“Residents have indicated a level of dissatisfaction with the current administration,” Mr Jones said.

“I have the business and local government experience to make a positive contribution.”

Mr McVeigh said he was a fourth-generation Darling Downs resident, businessman and father of six.

“My approach will be to ensure collaborative and reasoned decision-making based on professional advice and community input.

“This is a critical time in our history and I'm keen to play my part in getting the model for our region right for the future,” Mr McVeigh said.

Nominations for the by-election close November 7. Postal votes must be posted by December 6.

See - McVeigh nominates.

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election - former mayoral candidate Ian Jones signs up ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

By-election candidate says community wants action

28 October 2008

A candidate for the Toowoomba Regional Council by-election says residents are becoming dissatisfied with the current administration.

Former Clifton mayor Ian Jones has announced he is standing for the council vacancy, after unsuccessfully running for mayor in March.

He says residents want to see clear direction on promises made during the previous election campaign, particularly in relation to water, CBD development, strategic planning and a new airport.

It is now seven months after the council was formed, and Mr Jones says people expect action.

"The level of experience that people claimed to have, they expected that it wouldn't have been such a big problem," he said.

"The people who stood claimed years and years and years of local government experience, so the transition shouldn't have been so difficult."

See - Ian Jones signs on for by-election.

They're all coming out of the woodwork now ...

BG bids for QGC - what will happen to the CSG water ...

Excerpt from Sydney Morning Herald:

BG Group bids $4.8b for QGC

28 October 2008

UK-based BG Group, which launched a failed $13.8 billion bid for Origin Energy, has made a $4.8 billion takeover of Queensland Gas Company.

BG Group has offered $5.75 for each QGC share, which has been recommended by the coal seam gas company - its partner in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Queensland.

''BG Group's unconditional all-cash offer is an attractive reward for our loyal shareholders,'' QGC managing director Richard Cottee said in a statement.
...

See - BG bids for QGC.

Will a British run company be as interested in the surrounding communities and assisting with CSG water initiatives ...

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election goes postal ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Council election will be postal

27 October 2008

Toowoomba Regional Council voters won't have to line-up at polling booths on December 6 to elect a new councillor - all voting will be by post.

This is the recommendation to the council by Minister for Local Government Warren Pitt.

Council's chief executive officer and by-election returning officer Philip Spencer yesterday said council was waiting on the action to be declared law by the government.

“The process (of postal voting) is more efficient.

“It is very tightly controlled and will probably be the method used by local governments at future elections,” Mr Spencer said.

Mr Spencer said the process was cheaper as the council did not have to employ people on the day of the by-election.

He said costs with postal votes included an advertising campaign and postal expenses.

Votes will have to be posted by 6pm Saturday, December 6.

“We will start counting the votes on the Saturday night.

“If it is very close we will have to wait another 10 days before we can call the poll.

“The results can usually be up very quickly,” Mr Spencer said.

People in the shire can expect to receive their documentation after November 14.

If anyone does not receive their voting kit by November 21, they should call the assistant returning officer on 4688 6371.

The council is currently putting together information which explains how to cast a postal vote.

So far the nominees to replace Cr Ian Orford who died earlier this month include former Jondaryan Shire Council chief executive officer Noel Cass and former Toowoomba City councillors Graham Barron, Michele Alroe and Sue Englart.

See - By-election goes postal.

It will be a different form of campaign.

No voting booths. No cajolling voter support on election day.

Campaigns will be based around ads in the Chronicle, junk mail ads in letterboxes and the ubiquitous signs cluttering the streets.

So maybe not so different ...

Qld LNP election policy - will Rainmax benefit ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

22 October 2008

Liberal National Party water spokesman Andrew Cripps said an LNP government would hand out incentives to participate in an "eco home scheme", installing rainwater tanks integrated with innovative devices that maximised the capture of rainfall on rooftops and diverted the water directly into home plumbing systems.

See - LNP eco-home scheme.

Innovative devices that maximise the capture of rainfall on rooftops and divert the water directly into home plumbing systems.

Sounds a lot like Rainmax - part owned by Toowoomba Regional Council's Kevin Flanagan.

Wonder if he'll start stumping for the LNP as the State election draws near ...

Holy **** - even Sue Englart wants to get back on the Toowoomba Regional Council ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle (annotated):

Englart keen to use skills for benefit of the region

24 October 2008

Former Toowoomba City Councillor Sue Englart just couldn't resist the chance of another shot at local government.

Ms Englart yesterday nominated for the Toowoomba Regional Council position left vacant after the sudden death of Councillor Ian Orford. A by-election will be held on December 6.

“Times are tough both economically and environmentally,” Ms Englart said yesterday.

[Read - I don't have a job.]

“I decided that in tough times, there needed to be tough leadership and local government must be part of the solution in both of these areas.”

Ms Englart said in her 11 years as a Toowoomba City councillor, she had shown she was a strong leader and was decisive and fair.

[Laughing really loudly.]

“I have proven myself to be a woman of action and many times I was a voice that couldn't be silenced on important issues,” she said.

Ms Englart joins former Toowoomba City councillors Graham Barron and Michele Alroe and former Jondaryan Shire Council chief executive officer Noel Cass in the running for the position on the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Nominations close on November 7.

I have proven myself to be a woman of action and many times I was a voice that couldn't be silenced on important issues.

[Still laughing.]

See - Englart wants back into the trough.

When Englart was tossed off Council in March, she was so swamped with job offers she could spend her days walking around Prince Henry Drive trying to improve her PB.

Here's what was said in May:

Most of the ousted Toowoomba city councillors have re-established their lives, but Sue Englart says she's still waiting for her "direction".

"I now know how John Howard felt - although he got a huge pension. There was no payout for us," she said.

Ms Englart says: I'm embarrassed and I don't want people to feel sorry for me, but I want a job."

Since being ousted from the March 15 election that put former country shire mayors and deputies in 9 out of the 10 seats around the extended councillors' table, the feisty red-head has been left with her five-hour a week job at the Elders sale yards.

She has reluctantly joined the unemployment lines at Centrelink.

"That's humbling, but by the same token it makes you understand how a lot of people live," she said.

After being among the hardest-working councillors, Ms Englart struggles to explain how she feels.

"I'm not happy about it. I'm very ... it's a diminishing feeling."

"The really sad part in a way is - and it's not really sad - but I'm exactly the same person I was eight weeks ago when I was a councillor."
...

Another example of someone who did absolutely nothing for the city and can't wean herself off the Council salary, car and gourmet sandwiches.

Could voters really be that stupid ...

Toowoomba Mayor Peter Taylor doesn't have a purple pipe but is getting a huge pole ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Toowoomba flagpole to be 'iconic' symbol

24 October 2008

Toowoomba regional council Mayor Peter Taylor says a new flagpole will become an iconic marker of the city.

The Member for Toowoomba North, Kerry Shine, will today present councillor Taylor with a cheque for $250,000 to build the 15-tonne, 45-metre flagpole at Picnic Point as part of the Q150 celebrations.

"On a 150-foot high flagpole which is symbolic in that next year we will be 150 years of Queensland," Cr Taylor said.

"So one foot in the old measurements, one foot for every year of Queensland."

He says it will be impressive sight when flags are flying.

"Sitting on top of the Great Dividing Range, the greatest city in Australia and it'll be very visible from all directions," he said.

See - Mayor Peter Taylor gets a huge one.

Could the $250,000 have been spent in a more productive way ...

BG to take over QGC ...

See - Sydney Morning Herald - Brits claim Queensland Gas.

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election - Michele Alroe tries her luck again ...

Being an out of work Councillor is tough on the family budget.

So it must be time to try to get back on the gravy train.

Seems Michele Alroe is nominating for the spare position on the Toowoomba Regional Council.

So much for her previous comment:

“There is only one position available and one can't be so selfish as to go in there alone and split the vote.”

See - I'm thinking of the city's interests - really.

Being cut off from the salary, car and gourmet sandwiches must lead to horrible withdrawal symptoms ...

Radio 4BC questions the honesty of the Bligh government over recycled water ...

Excerpt from 4BC.com.au:

Water is important

Posted by: Michael Smith

23 October 2008

Water is important and people feel strongly about it.

Yesterday Anna Bligh confirmed that Queenslanders will be drinking recycled sewerage from next March - "purified poo" as some put it.

I was surprised to hear that. My recollection of the government's commentary is that recycled sewerage would only be used in industrial applications like power stations. Peter Beattie said putting recycled sewerage (sic) in the drinking water supply would only happen in an "Armageddon" scenario.

During the show yesterday your calls confirmed that impression. So I was amazed when we received a call from Robert Hoge from the Deputy Premier's office - he told us that the Labor government went to the last election and was voted in with recycled water clearly on the agenda. He said people had voted for it.

We are being conned. The Labor Party did not go to the election with recycled drinking water on the agenda. Peter Beattie was emphatic before the last election. On Friday 2 June 2006 the Labor government released a statement which said "Premier Peter Beattie and the Minister for Water, Henry Palaszczuk said today that it was not government policy to place recycled water into dams across Queensland."

The current Premier and her staff must think we came down in the last shower.

I'm not debating the rights and wrongs of recycled water - just the honesty of the government.
...

See - 4BC - Water is important.

Groundwater use unacceptable, says report ...

See - Sydney Morning Herald - Groundwater use unacceptable, says report.

Toowoomba Regional Council purple pipe back flip - Flanagan and Taylor overruled ...

Excerpt from WIN News:

Purple Pipes

23 October 2008

Toowoomba Regional Council has gone against the recommendation of its Water Services department on purple pipes, voting to enforce the condition they be installed in new developments.

The Planning schemes of the former Jondaryan and Crows Nest Shires requires developers to install the dual reticulation pipes in all new developments.

Council has rejected a proposed moratorium on the development condition.

It'll mean home buyers will continue to bear the additional fifteen to twenty thousand dollar cost of installing the recycled water infrastructure.

See - Purple Pipe - Flanagan and Taylor overruled.

Purple pipe recycled water works elsewhere but not in Toowoomba ...

... so say Kevin 'buy my rainwater system' Flanagan and Mayor Peter 'I don't have a purple pipe' Taylor.

You shall do as Anna tells you ...

Meanwhile global warming hits Sydney ...

Snow in October has been reported less than five times in the past 50 years, weather service Weatherzone said.

See - October snow just outside Sydney.

US election watch - McCain donors shell out US$150k for VP pick Palin outfits ...

Excerpt from Politico:

RNC shells out $150K for Palin fashion

22 October 2008

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.

The cash expenditures immediately raised questions among campaign finance experts about their legality under the Federal Election Commission's long-standing advisory opinions on using campaign cash to purchase items for personal use.
...

See - Politico - RNC shells out $150K for Palin fashion.

Queenslanders first to drink 'purified poo' ...

It's THEIR headline.

See - Brisbane Times - Queenslanders first to drink 'purified poo'.

Queenslanders to drink recycled water ...

Excerpt from Sydney Morning Herald:

Queenslanders to drink recycled water

21 October 2008

Queenslanders in the state's south-east will be drinking purified recycled water from March next year, Premier Anna Bligh has confirmed.

"Purified recycled water" includes that recycled from sewage treatment plants.

While other schemes use purified recycled water for industry, Queenslanders will be the first in Australia to drink it.

Ms Bligh has witnessed the placement of the last pipe in a 208km water grid linking water recycling plants to power stations, advanced water treatment plants and the region's dams.

It is the largest recycled water project in the Southern Hemisphere and a major part of the $9 billion water grid in the fast-growing and drought-stricken region.

"Queensland is on the verge of becoming one of the most environmentally and efficiently-run water systems in Australia - and one of the best in the world.

"With this recycled water project the people of south-east Queensland will become the most efficient and effective users and re-users of water anywhere in Australia."

Ms Bligh said the recycled water scheme was attracting interest from overseas.

"Ultimately it will have the capacity to deliver 232 Megalitres into our system," she said.

"This is about half of south-east Queensland's water supply.

"This is a critical part of drought-proofing south-east Queensland."

She said testing of the system and its water quality would proceed, with recycled water to be delivered into Brisbane's drinking supply, Wivenhoe Dam, from February or March 2009.

Ms Bligh reiterated her belief that the Traveston Crossing Dam, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland north of Brisbane, is critical to future water supplies in the region.

She said the federal government would not make a final decision on the dam until March at the earliest.

"If the Traveston Crossing Dam does not receive approval from the Commonwealth government then south-east Queensland will be short of water supply over the next ten to 15 years."

She said alternatives to the dam would deliver more expensive water.

"We are very confident of the Traveston Crossing Dam being approved," Ms Bligh said.

See - Queenslanders to drink recycled water.

Traces of pharmaceuticals in drinking-water supplies of more than 41 million Americans ...

See - LA Times - Bottled water versus tap: Which is safer to drink?

Toowoomba Regional Council's Kevin Flanagan talks out of his arse - again ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

"We've got kids born in this town who've never seen it rain properly."

See - The Australian - Parched Toowoomba first to draw water from 'exploited' basin.

There's really no other way to describe that statement ...

Taste of desalinated water for southeast Queenslanders

See - Sunday Mail - Taste of desalinated water for southeast Queenslanders.

Toowoomba taps into Great Artesian Basin ...

Excerpt from ABC News (annotated):

Toowoomba taps into Great Artesian Basin

17 October 2008

The southern Queensland city of Toowoomba will become the first major urban centre to draw its drinking water from the Great Artesian Basin.

Currently five deep bores are being drilled to meet water needs in the drought-affected region.

Dam levels in Toowoomba are down to just under 10 per cent and the last time there was adequate run-off into the dams was in 1999.

So now the regional council has decided to make greater use of groundwater and tap into the Great Artesian Basin.

Toowoomba's Mayor Peter Taylor says it's only a short-term measure until the town can connect to a new south-east Queensland water grid in 2010.

"It's a short-term measure until a pipeline is built from the Wivenhoe dam near Brisbane which has got adequate water, through to Cressbrook dam which is one of our other major storages for the Toowoomba region," he said.

"Until that pipeline is finished and available, we'll be using both groundwater which is shallow water and of course that's been used for many years.

"We're establishing a number of deep bores... which will get us through until the pipeline is actually constructed and the water is flowing, which will be at the end of 2009 or very early in 2010."

The $17 million project is expected to draw about 2,000 megalitres of water from the basin each year.

Currently 5 per cent of Toowoomba's water is taken from groundwater and by early next year that will increase to almost half.

Mr Taylor says the city which has been badly affected by the drought has already decreased urban water use.

"Many, many people, almost every person around the place here, does have a rain water tank. In fact it is compulsory in our region now if you're building a new house or relocating a house to put in a rain water tank," he said.

"Certainly people have been saving water. We're down to less than 120 litres per person per day. So it's very low water consumption. A lot of people are re-using their water."

Basin concerns

But groundwater experts have expressed concern about the impact this could have on the Great Artesian Basin.

One expert from the CSIRO has warned that water in the basin which was close to the surface has now dropped to 100 metres underground due to too much pumping.

Dr Charles Essery is an independent water consultant and a former government adviser.

[Everyone remembers Charles Essery and his 'cow and possum poo in the dam' argument - see - Another Top Gun comes to town.]

"Ultimately in the short-term you won't notice much... but if they rely on this for continuous water supply it will start drawing down that region of the water table and that in itself will start affecting the other users in the area and also the environment that relies on the aquifers," he said.

But Dr Essery says there is some heart to be taken from the plan to draw recycled water from Wivenhoe Dam.

"The people have forgotten that Wivenhoe is now going to have 25 per cent of its water in 2010 coming from recycled effluent from Brisbane," he added.

See - Toowoomba taps into Great Artesian Basin.

Remember what the Toowoomba City Council said about GAB reserves:

Toowoomba’s bore water supplies are drawn from the Great Artesian Basin which contains 64,900 million megalitres of water.

At 2,000 ML per annum, it might take a while to exhaust 64,900 million ML of water ...

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election - nominations start flowing ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Noel Cass seeks Toowoomba councillor vacancy

16 October 2008

Former Jondaryan Shire Council chief executive officer Noel Cass is the latest contender to throw his hat into the ring for the vacant position on the Toowoomba Regional Council.

The position was left vacant after the sudden death of Councillor Ian Orford.

Mr Cass left the Jondaryan Shire Council in March this year after 20 years as chief executive officer.

He said he thought he still had “plenty to offer” the Toowoomba region.

“I've served the community in one capacity or another all my life,” the 59-year-old man said

Mr Cass said he had served in national service for a couple of years and had 40 years experience in local government.

“I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring,” he said.

Mr Cass joins former Toowoomba councillor Graham Barron and Condamine Alliance officer Mark Schuster who have also nominated.

Former Clifton mayor Ian Jones yesterday said he would release a statement next week regarding his decision.

Former Toowoomba councillors Rob Berry, Sue Englart, Snow Manners and Michele Alroe yesterday declined to divulge their intentions.

Former Toowoomba councillor Keith Beer declared he would not be nominating.

Mrs Alroe said she was very interested in the position because Cr Orford's portfolio was similar to the Development Assessment portfolio she held with Toowoomba City Council.

“This city is crying out for representation on the council,” Mrs Alroe said.

“My absolute priority is to get Toowoomba city's representation on this council.

“There is only one position available and one can't be so selfish as to go in there alone and split the vote.”

Nominations will open on Saturday and close on November 7.

See - Toowoomba Regional Council by-election - nominations start flowing.

One person will be President, the other ...

Windesal - using wind energy to produce potable desal water ...

Excerpt from Windesal.com.au:

The Windesal team are dedicated to being part of the solution to a world-wide shortage of water.

We produce potable water using renewable energy.

You can't get much better than that!

Windesal uses standard commercial wind-turbines with back-up power being provided by diesel generator sets available from a number of recognised manufacturers. These standard gensets are modified in our factory to incorporate a low-load and fast start-up capability. These are fully controlled by our computer controlled switch gear. Turbine overproduction is controlled by a thermal dump-load.

We prefer the use of 100% bio-diesel when available to maximise the renewable inputs. It should be noted however that current Federal Government legislation prohibits claiming the Diesel Rebate on any fuel with a bio-diesel content of over 20%. Operators may chose to forego this rebate in the interests of sustainability. All gensets, control systems and dump-load equipment are built into standard 40ft shipping containers for ease of transport, site placement and easy connection.

Desalination

Equipment from any recognised manufacturer of reverse osmosis plant can be incorporated. We do however have established links with world leading companies in Europe who produce 'state of the art' equipment with proven capacity. Patented pre-treatment facilities are also available for extreme water conditions. High silt contamination has long been a serious problem with RO membranes, but we now have access to sophisticated equipment specifically designed to solve this issue. This equipment is also built into containers.

Options

Back-up power can incorporate engines run on methane or natural gas as well as various forms of bio-diesel.

Post treatment of the RO permeate provides all required disinfectant and trace elements.

Separate distillation equipment can be installed utilising waste heat from the dump-load. This provides either distilled water or with suitable post-treatment, bottled drinking water.

Additional power can be provided from the plant for local grid requirements. This can power industry or surrounding habitation.

Surplus heat is available for industrial use or heating.

Ice-making plant has on-site power and water available.

See - Desal.com.au.

Palin as President - one of the better websites of the US campaign ...

See - Palin as President.

4350water blog - recent search terms ...

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Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - Mayor results ...

MANNERS, FP. "Snow" - 9,643 votes - 11.21%

JONES, Ian - 14,613 votes - 16.98%

TAYLOR, Peter - 61,795 votes - 71.81%


Total Formal Votes - 86,051

Total Informal - 1,643

Total Votes - 87,694

See - Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - Mayor results.

Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - Councillor results ...

WILLIAMS, Mike - 44,813 votes - 5.48%

MORLEY, Rosemary - 15,883 votes - 1.94%

BERRY, Rob - 10,890 votes - 1.33%

TAYLOR, Carol - 51,792 votes - 6.33%

SHARP, Barry Raymond - 12,069 votes - 1.48%

FRIZZELL, Annette - 18,442 votes - 2.26%

RAMIA, Joe - 31,068 votes - 3.80%

STATHAM, Denise - 9,815 votes - 1.20%

SCHUSTER, Mark - 12,003 votes - 1.47%

ELVERY, Bruce - 7,473 votes - 0.91%

BOURKE, Tony - 25,034 votes - 3.06%

LEDBURY, Terry - 8,807 votes - 1.08%

MARKS, Peter - 29,881 votes - 3.65%

HUXLEY, Debbie - 16,909 votes - 2.07%

ANTONIO, Paul - 57,850 votes - 7.07%

SMITH, Mick - 18,405 votes - 2.25%

GLASHEEN, Anne - 30,147 votes - 3.69%

SULLIVAN, Megan - 22,635 votes - 2.77%

ENGLART, Sue - 23,090 votes - 2.82%

DEAN, Lyn - 8,229 votes - 1.01%

McCARTHY, Darby - 9,480 votes - 1.16%

BEER, Keith - 21,486 votes - 2.63%

ALROE, Michele - 20,871 votes - 2.55%

MICHAEL, Julie - 21,122 votes - 2.58%

SCHNEIDER, Michelle (Ruby)- 28,957 votes - 3.54%

GRAHAM, Ian - 17,568 votes - 2.15%

FITZGERALD, Timothy - 7,593 votes - 0.93%

BARRON, Graham - 22,054 votes - 2.70%

SORENSEN, Ven - 10,168 votes - 1.24%

SCOTNEY, Ros - 46,407 votes - 5.67%

YEATES, Chris - 23,361 votes - 2.86%

CAHILL, Bill - 34,046 votes - 4.16%

STROHFELD, Noel - 35,389 votes - 4.33%

DHANN, Terry - 14,266 votes - 1.74%

STARK, Crystal - 13,541 votes - 1.66%

ORFORD, Ian - 36,246 votes - 4.43%


Total Formal Votes - 817,790

Total Informal - 5,935

Total Votes - 823,725

Total Ballots - 87,714

See - Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - Councillor results.

Also see - Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - booth details.

Toowoomba Regional Council election also-rans to try their hand at by-election ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Contenders shape up for council fight

14 October 2008

Jockeying for the vacant position on the Toowoomba Regional Council left by the sudden death of Councillor Ian Orford has begun.

The first to put his hand up formally yesterday was Graham Barron, former councillor on the Toowoomba City Council and Toowoomba Hospice chairman.

Another definite starter is Condamine Alliance officer Mark Schuster 28th of the 36 would-be councillors who sought election last March.

Former Toowoomba City Council councillor Michelle Schneider ruled out a challenge.

She narrowly missed election being 11th on the heels of the last and 10th successful councillor candidate, Peter Marks.

Failed mayoral candidate in the March elections and former Clifton mayor Ian Jones was considering whether to run in the December by-election.

Mr Jones said he would release a statement tomorrow.

"I haven't ruled anything out and I am considering my options," Mr Jones said.

Mr Barron, 16th of the 36 contenders, said he had fielded calls of support and been encouraged to stand again.

"When nominations become available, I will be seeking a nomination," he said.

"I look forward to the opportunity if elected to represent Toowoomba and the surrounding community."

Others opting not to run are former Toowoomba mayor Tony Bourke (12), former regional councillors Barry Sharp (27) and Ian Graham (22), window designer Denise Statham (31), retired community worker Tim Fitzgerald (35) and Toowoomba plumber Mick Smith (20).

Nominations will be called on Saturday.

The Chronicle contacted other candidates at the election.

Many are still undecided. These include land valuer Rob Berry (29), Queensland home care co-ordinator Terry Ledbury (33), Toowoomba taxi driver Bruce Elvery (36) and former councillors Megan Sullivan (15), Debbie Huxley (23), Lyn Dean (34), Chris Yeates (14), Michele Alroe (19), and Julie Michael (18).

Former councillor and failed mayoral candidate Snow Manners and CADS co-ordinator Rosemary Morley (24) both declined to comment. Former councillors Sue Englart (13), Crystal Stark, Annette Frizzell, Keith Beer and Terry Dhann, former top Aboriginal jockey Darby McCarthy, and former council staffer Ven Sorensen could not be contacted.

See - Toowoomba Regional Council - If at first you don't succeed.

Former Toowoomba mayor's house - can't sell it - time to rent it ...

THE BEST ADDRESS A MUST TO SEE INSIDE

$410 p.w.

6 COTTESLOE STREET EAST TOOWOOMBA

See - Rent former Mayor Thorley's house.

Survey says ratifying Kyoto was a waste of time ...

See - News.com.au - Kyoto 'a waste of time' say half of Australians.

Calls for desal plant to produce non-potable water ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Calls for desal plant to produce drinking water

3 October 2008

The Murray-Darling Association says BHP Billiton's proposed desalination plant near Whyalla in South Australia would be more energy efficient if it only produced non-potable water.

Communities around the proposed plant near Whyalla have been calling for the desalination plant to create water of drinking quality.

But the Murray-Darling Association's general manager, Ray Najar, says most of the water from the plant would be used for the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine and it would make more sense to use non-potable water.

"The amount of energy they would use to produce the water quality they need would be much lower than producing potable water," he said.

Mr Najar says it would be more energy efficient to set up smaller plants to further process the water, if drinking water is needed.

The association has reaffirmed its support for the desalination plant, saying it will ease the burden on the River Murray and the Great Artesian Basin.

See - ABC News - Calls for desal plant to produce drinking water.

Why the K Rudd government's environmental agenda just went out the door ...

Chart - S&P/ASX 200 Index Historical Chart.

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election set for 6 December 2008 ...

Excerpt from Toowoomba Regional Council website:

Toowoomba Regional Council by-election on December 6

9 October 2008

Toowoomba Regional Council electors will vote for a new councillor on Saturday, December 6.
...

Queensland's Local Government Act requires a by-election to be held within 10 weeks.

Electors must ensure they are enrolled by 5pm Friday, October 17.

Voting is compulsory for residents 18 and over who reside in the Toowoomba Regional Council area.
...

Council's CEO Philip Spencer will act as returning officer.

Nominations for candidates are expected to be called on October 18.

See - Toowoomba Regional Council by-election - 6 December 2008.

Let the nominations commence ...

NY stock exchange exec explains stock market to Aussie Treasurer Swan ...

"Mr Swan - this is a stock market."

See - Courier Mail - Share market collapses; Kevin Rudd says banks are safe.

K Rudd's chief of staff quits - leaves 29 year old in charge ...

See - Courier Mail - David Epstein quits as Kevin Rudd's chief of staff.

When the stock market melt down occurred in 1987, K Rudd's new chief of staff was 8.

Good to see there's experience at the helm in such turbulent times ....

Toowoomba Regional Council to pay $19,000 to star in reality TV show ...

Coming to a TV near you.

Mayor Peter Taylor starring as an eco-cop on "The Biggest Carbon Loser".

See - Brisbane Times - Would you pay to be on TV?

Toowoomba ratepayers will be the loser ...

FLOW - the film ...

See - Flow - the film.

Starbucks leaves taps running in their stores ...

While years of drought mean many Australians wouldn't consider leaving the tap running while they brush their teeth, the coffee shop chain Starbucks leaves a tap running all day in each of its 23 Australian stores.

See - Sydney Morning Herald - Water to burn at fussy Starbucks.

Toowoomba prepares for by-election ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

By-election only option

7 October 2008

Voters will go back to the polls to decide who will fill the vacancy on Toowoomba Regional Council by December 14.

The news was confirmed yesterday a by-election will determine the 11th member of council left vacant after the death of popular Councillor Ian Orford on Sunday.

"There will be a by-election before the 14th of December it is the only option, actually it's the only choice," Toowoomba Regional Council Government and Administration manager Norm Garsden said.

Section 253 of the Queensland Local Government Act states that if a person's office as a local government councillor becomes vacant before March 1 in the year before the scheduled local government quadrennial elections, the vacancy must be filled by a by-election.

It is yet to be decided if Toowoomba Regional Council chief executive officer Philip Spencer will act as the returning officer or whether he will elect someone else to fill the role.

The returning officer must name a date for the by-election within 10 weeks, according to Mr Garsden.

Mr Spencer is currently on leave.

"That will need to be decided I would think in the next few days. Ten weeks will come around pretty quickly," he said.

See - By-election only option.

Gold Coast Mayor calls QWC water figures 'absolute nonsense' ...

See - ABC News - Gold Coast Mayor - They keep on producing these sums and they are absolute nonsense.

Cloncurry to get water relief via rail ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

Cloncurry to get water relief via rail

6 October 2008

More than 12 million litres of fresh water will be railed into the drought ravaged community of Cloncurry in north-west Queensland as part of a State Government rescue plan.

The town has been battling water shortages for several months, but it is just about to run dry.
Cloncurry Mayor Andrew Daniels says the first water tanker is expected as early as next week and will continue for as long as it is needed until rain arrives.

"We've been talking with QR [Queensland Rail] and we're basically going to rail about 160,000 litres of water a day from Mount Isa to Cloncurry," he said.
...

See - Cloncurry to get water relief via rail.

Australians 'bored' by climate change ...

See - Courier Mail - Australians 'bored' by climate change.

Toowoomba Regional Council councillors to get extra 6 months pay ...

See - Courier Mail - Bligh Government to consider extending councillor terms.

Darling Downs farmers vow to resist coal miners ...

See - Courier Mail - Darling Downs farmers vow to resist coal miners.

Anna Bligh loses an MP ...

Parliamentary secretary to the Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, defects to the Greens.

Claims that Bligh is persisting with a water policy that was "just not real smart".

See - Brisbane Times - Bligh denies crisis after defection.

Rats deserting a sinking ship ...

Foreclosure alley ...

An indication of just how bad things are in the US housing market.

See - Foreclosure Alley.

"A trip through Southern California and the effects of insane recklessness by both banks and ordinary Americans."

At 6 mins 24 secs onwards, spray painting lawns green - Alan Bond would be so proud.

Draining an average of 3-5 pools per week.

Trashing out an average of 15 foreclosed homes per day ...

Gold Coast to ignore QWC water restrictions ...

See - GoldCoast.com.au - Ignore water bans, urges mayor.

Premier Anna's climate change pillow talk ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

Queensland's place in the politics of pollution

4 October 2008

Could you you, in a flight of fancy, imagine the pillow talk that might take place in the bedroom of Greg Withers and his squeeze, Anna Bligh?

Withers, the boss of Queensland's Office of Climate Change, might say: "Tell me what sort of a day you had, darling?"

The Premier replies: "It was very exciting, sweetheart.

"We gave the go-ahead for Australia's largest coal mine at Wandoan."

Withers: "Is that the new Xstrata mine, dear?"

Bligh: "Yes, that's the one. It's a whopper.

"We've declared it a Project of State Significance and we're counting on the royalties to help pay for the new kids' hospital.

"And what did you do today, Greg?"

Withers beams. "We put up a new website at www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au so folks can follow our low carbon diet to reduce their own carbon footprint.

"It's full of handy tips like turning off lights and hanging washing on the line rather than using a dryer.

"Our goal is to have 500,000 Queenslanders reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 2000 kilos a year by 2010.

"By the way, do you know how much carbon dioxide the Wandoan coal will produce, Anna?"

Bligh: "It's lights-out time, Greg."

Withers: "Did you notice our new 17W low-energy bulbs?"
...

We could turn off our lights and hang out our washing for a thousand years and still not compensate for the harmful emissions Queensland pumps into the global atmosphere via its coal exports.

Government leaders such as Bligh and her Sustainability and Climate Change Minister Andrew McNamara are locked in a cynical environmental pantomime designed to hoodwink voters into believing they care about the environment.
...

See - Courier Mail - Queensland's place in the politics of pollution.