Anna Bligh warnings, community disquiet, hospital waste in 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 a very limited 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 and increasing.

And now the QWC has admitted that there will be hospital waste in the recycled water.

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?

The LNP have signalled that the timing for putting recycled water into Wivenhoe dam will be an election issue.

The QWC is clearly burning the midnight oil as they try to deflect the barrage of negative press being directed at the recycled water project.

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