SEQ recycled water - Industry likely to get the lion's share of recycled water ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Industry likely to get the lion's share of recycled water in Queensland

15 November 2008

Almost half of the recycled water produced in southeast Queensland under a new $2.5billion scheme could go toindustrial users in the short term, and a quarter is being offered to farmers in the Lockyer Valley.

But Premier Anna Bligh insists Brisbane's main water storage, Wivenhoe Dam, will still need to be topped up to supplement residential supplies -- particularly if the federal Government blocks construction of the Traveston Crossing Dam.

Of the 232-megalitre-a-day maximum output of the WesternCorridor Recycled Water project, due for completion early next year, 40-100 megalitres will betaken by power stations, 10-20 megalitres will be taken by other industrial users, and 66 megalitres have been offered to irrigators should such a scheme prove financially viable.

Ms Bligh said residents would be protected by the latest available technology and would benefit further with the easing of water restrictions if Wivenhoe Dam's levels continued to rise.

As a desalination plant and two dams were expected to be connected to the southeast water grid, she said the Government was not solely focused on recycled water, but rather a diverse range of sources.

She conceded water security was a divisive political issue.

While the Greens support water recycling, the Liberal National Party wants it used to supplement residential supplies only in an emergency.

The Greens and the LNP also oppose Traveston Crossing Dam, and are lobbying the federal Government to prevent construction of the new Mary Valley water storage.

"The reality is if the federal Government knocks off Traveston, then we will be even more dependent on recycled water, and we will be in even less a position to offer it to Lockyer Valley irrigators or any other industrial user because it will become a bigger part of our supply," Ms Bligh said.

On current Queensland Water Commission estimates, recycled water will satisfy 4-6 per cent of total urban demand in southeast Queensland, and Ms Bligh has committed to negotiating with more industries to substitute their existing supplies for recycled water.

See - Industry likely to get the lion's share of recycled water in Queensland.