The 4350water Blog highlights some of the issues relating to proposals for potable reuse in Toowoomba and South East Qld. 4350water blog looks at related political issues as well.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 7:33 AM
For many years, the 4350water blog has informed readers of plans by the Toowoomba City Council (now Toowoomba Regional Council) and the Qld government to introduce recycled water for drinking in Toowoomba. It has also looked at the issue from a State and Federal perspective and dealt with related State and Federal political issues. There continues to be a need for the Toowoomba Regional Council to be completely transparent in its dealings with the ratepayers and residents of Toowoomba. There also continues to be a need for open debate on the benefits and risks of potable reuse and long-term studies on the effects on humans of drinking recycled water. Coal seam gas water is emerging as a possible alternate water source for some uses for the region. The 4350water blog is a collective effort and thanks go to its many contributors.
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Brisbane Times:
Black death devastation
March 15, 2009
THE oil spill polluting beaches near Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast is 10 times worse than originally reported, the Queensland Government revealed yesterday.
The Deputy Premier, Paul Lucas, said initial estimates put the oil spill at 20 to 30 tonnes, but it was now apparent that about 230 tonnes had leaked from the Hong Kong-flagged ship Pacific Adventurer in wild seas on Wednesday.
About 60 kilometres of beaches have been hit by the slick, with Moreton Island, about 40 kilometres off Brisbane, the worst affected.
Mr Lucas was in the heart of the disaster zone yesterday after the Government's response to it was criticised. He was joined by 350 workers to begin the clean-up.
"It's like cleaning fine china, rather than digging turf," Mr Lucas said. "There was no use cleaning up while a significant amount of oil remained in the water. The next tide would bring more in."
The head of decontamination on Moreton Island's eastern coastline, Brad Kitchen, said the black-scarred sand stretched nearly 20 kilometres. The oil crust was on average 2 millimetres thick, but increased to 5 millimetres in places. At a kilometre a day, it would take up to a month to clean the island's beaches.
At Eagers Creek, the oil has turned the tidal inlet into a sludge pond. Ngugi Aboriginal elder Dr Robert Anderson visited the island for the first time since the spill yesterday. "A few weeks ago, we were travelling up and down the beach collecting our traditional foods, singing up our ancestors. We're devastated, we feel violated," he said.
Post-spill, it is a tale of two coasts on Moreton Island. On the isolated ocean side, it is a disaster zone. On the western bay side, life goes on as usual at Tangalooma Resort.
Mark Jenkins, a marine biologist with the resort, lured a pelican smudged with oil into a trap set with fish bait.
"He isn't heavily coated, but he does have enough oil on him, on his chest and wing, to cause harm if it was ingested," Mr Jenkins said, having rescued five pelicans since the oil spill.
Trevor Hassard, a director at Tangalooma Resort, said he was also concerned about the 31 containers of ammonium nitrate that fell from the ship and were still missing.
"I know that there is 600 tonnes of fertiliser out there somewhere and that's a big worry for Moreton Island and south-east Queensland."
10:41 AM, March 15, 2009
Let us hope that the ammonium nitrate containers don't wash up on the beach and get in the hands of any home grown suicide bombers. Perhaps they are hopefully patrolling the beaches as we speak.
8:20 AM, March 16, 2009
It's no surprise that Mr McNamara was sipping champagne when he should have been responding to the oil spill. He's stood by for almost three years now and let the ALP pursue the unnecessary and expensive Traveston Crossing dam, even though it will impact on the environment and the economy of his electorate.
In my view, he's failed to demonstrate a genuine commitment to environmental protection. Instead he has looked for the headlines generated by his McNamara report on peak oil, and his more recent McNamara Plan about regional water management.
8:39 AM, March 16, 2009
Traveston Dam opponents must be very happy that The Greens have done a preference deal with Labor. They thought The Greens were in their corner only to be dumped at election time.
10:10 AM, March 16, 2009
Mary River activists now know that the Greens are only a defacto Labor Party. They are one of the reasons why the Labor Party is returned again and again even though the primary vote is pretty even. The voters need to get rid of them. They are not helping the environment only Labor. When will the left wing journalists report honestly and support Australia and Australians rather than the International Socialists who are only Communists with an iron fist in a velvet glove. We are being destroyed from within and Australians are asleep at the wheel. Robertson will prove to be even more innefficient than Mc Namara as he toes the party line and destroys the farmers. The Opposition is continually ridiculed by the Labor Party, the left wing print, radio and TV media, the ABC and SBS. They block any message the Conservative Parties want to get across.
2:02 PM, March 27, 2009
It took them long enough to discover it! And how will the voters get rid of them? In a democracy, political parties don't get scrubbed out. If a political party is organised it will gets its message out. It has to combat the Bligh PR team and has to raise its game to their level. If they were more competent maybe they'd be ridiculed less.
3:03 PM, March 27, 2009
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