SEQ recycled water - Opposition seizes on Qld Govt water re-think ...
Excerpt from ABC News:
Opposition seizes on Qld Govt water re-think
25 November 2008
Queensland's Opposition says the State Government is starting to back away from the two controversial water issues of the Traveston Crossing Dam and recycled drinking water.
Premier Anna Bligh has announced the proposed dam will be delayed for "several years" by environmental work, to ensure it gets federal approval.
She has also asked the Water Commission for new advice on the need for recycled water in south-east Queensland's drinking supplies.
The Commission says it will meet tomorrow to discuss the request.
Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg says the Government should go all the way and scrap both plans altogether.
"Traveston Crossing Dam never stacked up from day one; environmentally, socially or economically," he said.
"Purified recycled water, otherwise known as recycled sewage and hospital waste, should never be put into drinking water supplies on a routine basis."
But Ms Bligh has told Parliament the dam will not be scrapped.
"This government has not taken one step backwards in relation to the Traveston Crossing Dam," she said.
"We are absolutely determined that this dam will go ahead. But as we have said all along it will only go ahead if it meets the environmental requirements, and that is exactly what we will do."
Anti-dam campaigners say they hope today's announcement of a delay means the Traveston dam will never proceed.
President of the Save the Mary River Coordinating Group, Kevin Ingersole, says he is optimistic the dam will now be scrapped.
"The language was several years not a few years and that just pushes it so far out in the future I don't think any of us have got anything to worry about," he said.
The Greens agree that the dam should be totally scrapped, and state MP Ronan Lee says it should kill the proposal now.
"Any dollar of Queenslanders' money spent after this point is a complete waste," he said.
"It's a disgrace that we're still spending money on the Traveston Dam when we all know it doesn't stack up environmentally."
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says he is pleased the State Government will give more consideration to the environmental impact of the Traveston Dam.
"Those issues were clearly ones that had to be determined. The Premier's announcement today means that there'll be more rigorous consideration given to them and I welcome that," he said.
Former state Labor MP Cate Molloy was disendorsed by the party after speaking out against the dam in 2006.
She says she is pleased the State Government is being forced to re-evaluate its water grid.
"It's about time they started to see a little bit of environmental sense, the proposed Traveston Dam was always ever only going to be a swamp," she said.
"Now they have to go back and start looking at responsible water conservation."
See - Bligh backflip.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 6:55 PM
2 Comments:
Weekly Times Now:
Qld Govt buckles under pressure over dam
November 25, 2008
QUEENSLAND Premier Anna Bligh has signalled a backflip on recycled drinking water, saying her government will now review the decision.
Ms Bligh today announced the Traveston dam, proposed for the Mary River, north of Brisbane, would be delayed by several years.
The coordinator-general advised the site has been badly degraded by years of farming and would need mitigation before construction began.
Environmentalists welcomed the decision, fearing the loss of threatened species including lungfish, turtle and cod, and want the dam scrapped altogether.
Ms Bligh's flagged another about-face, saying that in light of the dam's delay, recent rain, the success of water restrictions and progress on other drought proofing measures, the government will review its decision to add recycled water to the south-east's drinking supply.
She says it's in response to growing community concern about recycled water.
9:09 PM, November 25, 2008
Hansard:
South-East Queensland Water Grid
Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (9.52 am): I inform the House today of some key developments in the construction of the south-east Queensland water grid. This morning we have received approval from the federal Minister for the Environment for Wyaralong Dam to proceed. The 103,000 megalitre dam will be located on the Teviot Brook within the Logan River catchment about 14 kilometres north-west of Beaudesert. When constructed, this dam will put up to an extra 21 million litres of water every year into our supply system when it is operated in conjunction with the recently completed Cedar Grove Weir. This is good news, and now that we have received the tick of approval we
can get on with the job. We expect bulldozers on site early next year and the project is due for completion by the end of 2011. This is a significant milestone and it takes us one step closer to securing the future of water supply in south-east Queensland and is another major new infrastructure project for our state.
I also have news in relation to Traveston Crossing Dam. As members would be aware, the Queensland Coordinator-General has been assessing the environmental impact of this project in line with his statutory obligations under law. Through this process it has been identified that the Mary River catchment, including the dam location, has suffered significant disturbance as a result of clearing and cultivation practices over many, many years. It is estimated that approximately 85 per cent of the study area has been cleared of native vegetation over that time. The Coordinator-General has raised
concerns about the impact on habitat and achieving necessary rehabilitation and offsets for threatened species, including the Australian lungfish, the Mary River cod, the Mary River turtle and the southern barred frog.
While no decision has yet been made, the Coordinator-General has formally advised Queensland Water Infrastructure that he believes a number of mitigation measures are required to minimise the impact on flora and fauna prior to the construction of the dam. All major projects disturb their environment and require rehabilitation work after the construction is complete. As a general rule, mitigation and rehabilitation is undertaken after the construction of a major project. However, the Coordinator-General met with me on 13 November and advised that should he approve the project it would need to include these measures and without these measures the project was unlikely to receive federal government approval. In response, the Coordinator-General has provided this recommendation to Queensland Water Infrastructure and we have now received formal advice from the CEO of Queensland Water Infrastructure that this work can be undertaken but that it will delay the construction of the Traveston Crossing Dam.
Initiatives such as rehabilitating riparian habitats will take time. For example, Queensland Water Infrastructure has already indicated previously that approximately two years is required after the establishment to ensure at least 90 per cent of any planted seedlings survive. It has also noted that approximately five years is required after planting to ensure the habitat is suitable for fauna. As a result, QWI has indicated it will urgently consider the advice from the Coordinator-General and advise us of new time frames for the construction and completion of the dam. However, it is expected that developing and proving the effectiveness of the measures will result in a delay in construction of at least several
years.
While I am obviously disappointed in this delay, this is a statutory and independent approval process in which I cannot and will not intervene. I do, however, reiterate that the government remains committed to the Traveston Crossing Dam and we will do everything in our power to see it built. It is a
good site for a dam. With the recent rain, Traveston Crossing would be full and overflowing again for the ninth time in six years.
Opposition members interjected.
Ms BLIGH: I reiterate: with the recent rain, Traveston Crossing would be full and overflowing again for the ninth time in six years.
The recommendations of the Coordinator-General are designed to protect vulnerable species and to give the dam the best chance of gaining federal approval. If delaying by a couple of years improves the chances of getting this dam approved then that is a step that we will take. By following the course of action that I have spelt out, it is clear that we will have a much better chance of getting the project approved by both the Coordinator-General and the federal government.
The necessary work to riparian areas will involve and require further discussion and consultation, particularly with rural landholders. Riparian zones are obviously on the creeks and they will need some work. There will need to be some further consultation to ensure that the damage that is currently happening to fauna in this area can be arrested and stopped in order to allow the dam to go ahead.
Obviously a delay in the construction of the Traveston Crossing Dam has implications for the entire water grid. Over the past few weeks, like others in this House I have been listening to the views and the concerns of people in south-east Queensland about purified recycled water. It is clear that people believe that recycled water is a good insurance policy in the event that our dams plummet to low levels. But it is equally clear that people are uneasy about recycled water as a constant part of our water supply system.
I have been listening to these concerns over the past few weeks against the backdrop of a possible delay in the Traveston Crossing Dam. The government has an overriding responsibility to ensure that we have the water we need. But we also have a responsibility to ensure that people have confidence in our water supply. Here in south-east Queensland we have successfully and dramatically cut our water use. We did this by working together—by making sure that people understood the need to change and helping them to make the changes that were necessary. We need to keep that community goodwill and we need to keep building on that partnership. Many things have changed since January 2007 when we announced that, with dams at perilously low levels, we had no choice but to cancel the proposed referendum on purified recycled water and push ahead with every available water source.
First, we have dramatically cut our water use from approximately 180 litres a day per person to approximately 140 litres per person per day and we have maintained that over a very long period of time.
Secondly, as we have all seen dramatically in the last few weeks, it has rained. In January 2007 combined dam levels were at 22 per cent; now they are at just more than 45 per cent. Thirdly, of course, our water grid has become a reality. More than 400 kilometres of pipeline has been laid connecting our water resources and water storage areas, allowing us to move water around. Our desalination plant is complete and I look forward to being at the ‘desal day’ on Sunday on the Gold Coast.
Wyaralong Dam has been approved and construction is about to start, and purified recycled water is supplying our major power stations and has been for some time.
In light of all those changes and confirmation yesterday of a delay in the Traveston Crossing Dam, today I will ask the Queensland Water Commission to provide urgent advice on whether the 40 per cent trigger that it identified in January 2007 for the introduction of purified recycled water is still sound. We set out to drought proof south-east Queensland and it is clear that we are well on the way to achieving that. Our water grid is well on the way to being finalised. The people of south-east Queensland deserve the benefit of that water grid and they deserve the benefit of the rain that we have experienced. We can now source water from every possible available source and we will use it wisely and carefully. The Queensland Water Commission will provide urgent advice. I look forward to advising the House of that advice as soon as possible.
10:32 PM, November 25, 2008
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