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Excerpt from ABC News:

Govt urged to push on with recycled water plans

26 November 2008

The Queensland Government has been urged to push ahead with its recycled water policy in the state's south-east.

The Queensland Water Commission (QWC) will meet today to review plans for the introduction of recycled water to the south-east's drinking supplies.

Premier Anna Bligh has asked the QWC for new advice on the trigger for recycled water to be added to the region's dams.

Ms Bligh says that has come as a result of the delay in plans to build the Traveston Crossing Dam near Gympie.

The Government had hoped to receive Commonwealth approval to begin building the dam next year but the Premier says environmental requirements have pushed that back by two to four years.

Treated waste water is due to go into Wivenhoe Dam from early next year.

Jurg Keller, from the University of Queensland's Advanced Water Management Centre, says there will be more pressure on water supplies with the dam postponed.

He says the Government should push ahead with its recycled water policy.

"It's even more important to make sure that we save as much water as we can now because we just don't know where it's going to go in the next few years," he said.

"We won't have the water available from Traveston for at least another three to five years later than planned and that just puts more pressure on existing water supplies."

But a former Toowoomba City councillor who campaigned against adding recycled water to the city's drinking supply says the State Government cannot be trusted on the issue.

Snow Manners led the 'No' campaign when Toowoomba residents voted against recycled water in 2006.

He says the Government is backing away from the issue because there is an election due.

"Look at the messages we've had - from [former premier] Peter Beattie's Armageddon solution through to Peter Beattie's plebiscite through to Peter Beattie's cancelling the plebiscite through to Anna Bligh saying we have to do it," he said.

"Then she's saying 'it's totally safe and we'll put it into the dams unless the dams are actually flowing over' and now retreating from the idea and saying 'I'm listening to people and they don't seem to want it'."

See - Govt urged to push on with recycled water plans.