SEQ recycled water - Recycled water plan may be postponed ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

Recycled water plan may be postponed, says John Bradley

21 November 2008

The Government's water adviser has reignited speculation water recycling could be dumped, after suggesting it could be postponed to save money.

Queensland Water Commission chief executive John Bradley yesterday offered the new exit strategy only a day after Premier Anna Bligh shifted her position and revealed she would rely on advice from the independent body.

Mr Bradley said yesterday that plans to introduce purified recycled and desalinated water were vital to securing southeast Queensland's water future.

But he said the water grid manager had a responsibility to ensure security first and then optimise costs.

He said the plans could be delayed if "there was an opportunity to create some cost savings".

"It would only be if there was a cost-saving opportunity there where we could see an opportunity to actually reduce the output for desalination or purified recycled water."

Normal treated dam water costs about $100 a megalitre, purified recycled water costs about $500 a megalitre and desalinated water $650 a megalitre.

The Government has been under mounting pressure over the plans after initially saying recycled water would be introduced if dam levels fell below 40 per cent.

This week's heavy rains have taken the storage levels of the region's three dams to almost 45 per cent.

Ms Bligh yesterday conceded that treating sewage water was expensive but insisted she still saw no reason to change her mind on the issue.

"It is an expensive form of water," Ms Bligh said.

"There's no doubt about that and you'd make some decision about at what point you didn't really need, on a cost basis, to do that."

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said the shift from the Premier was Labor's fourth different position on the issue.

"Queenslanders will view an election eve backflip on drinking recycled water with suspicion, though, especially after Labor went to the last state election promising residents a say only to change their mind a few months later," Mr Springborg said.

"What this whole episode reminds us is that Labor says one thing on the eve of an election and does the opposite after."

See - Recycled water plan may be postponed.