SEQ - Recycled water introduction to be low-key ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

Recycled water introduction to be low-key

14 November 2008

The Government is counting on science and a softly-softly approach to introduce purified recycled water into dams with as little fuss as possible.

But Queensland Water Commission chief executive officer John Bradley denies there is any effort to sneak under the radar.

"What we've tried to do is make information available to people and have it as something that is not under the radar," he said.

The QWC is relying largely on fact sheets, brochures, stalls in shopping centres, some advertising and stands at big events such as the Ekka, where it handed out 60,000 purified water samples, to build consumer confidence in the safety of recycled water.

Mr Bradley said the commission had received "a really strong and interested response" and "overwhelmingly positive feedback" from people who had tasted samples.

The QWC has also established an expert advisory panel headed by University of Queensland vice-chancellor and chemical engineer Paul Greenfield "to provide advice on technical issues associated with purified recycled water".

"All the analysis we have seen in terms of scientific expert opinion, not only the expert panel that advises the commission but also independent scientists, is indicating to us this can be a safe and reliable source of supply," Mr Bradley said.

But he conceded the recent outbreak of anti-recycled-water sentiment might have dented public confidence.

He said previous market research "was showing us strong degrees of community support".

"We haven't done any research in the last recent weeks of public debate about this and I wouldn't be surprised, in view of some of the blatantly false pseudo-science that has been published without rebuttal, to see there has been some impact on public confidence."

He said it was "absolutely legitimate" to debate the issue and for people to question the safety of purified recycled water.

"We welcome any rational and evidence-based discussion around those issues and we welcome people who have new evidence or new information which goes to the reliability of this water supply source to discuss us with it and put it on the table," Mr Bradley said.

See - Recycled water introduction to be low-key.

QWC - "We haven't done any research in the last recent weeks of public debate".

Yeah, right ...