Toowoomba Regional Council Deputy Mayor forced to clean up Flanagan's latest mess ...
Antonio mops up forecast blunder
30 April 2009
Deputy Mayor Paul Antonio was forced to mop up a gaffe the size of Cressbrook Dam yesterday.
The Courier-Mail yesterday quoted Toowoomba Regional Council engineer Kevin Flanagan predicting the city could run out of water if a pipeline from Wivenhoe Dam was delayed.
Cr Antonio yesterday said Mr Flanagan was misrepresented and assured worried residents that supplies won't run dry.
The damning forecast “we might run out of water” in the “touch and go” situation was not uttered by the council's top water official, he stressed.
“There has been a sensible contingency plan involving bore supplies put in place,” Cr Antonio said.
“I have absolute confidence we can continue supplying Toowoomba until the pipeline is flowing.”
Dam levels yesterday were at 9.6 per cent.
Cr Antonio said they would drop to five per cent by the time the Wivenhoe Dam supplies come online in March next year - if it doesn't rain.
The council is lobbying for extra money from the State Government to fund the pipeline which should ensure the region is drought-proof until 2050.
At the moment, the $187 million piece of infrastructure will cost the council $112 million with a $75 million shortfall made up by the state.
He said more funds were needed to avoid a capital drought.
“The best thing is if the government increases the level of subsidy,” he said.
Interestingly, Mr Flanagan was happy to talk to The Courier-Mail but could not accommodate a similar request from The Chronicle.
See - Antonio mops up forecast blunder.
When will the Toowoomba Regional Council learn and place a permanent media ban on this guy ...
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 11:05 AM
4 Comments:
I agree with the last statement and maybe the new CEO would see that Kevie is a liability.
The cries of "We will run out of water is getting old!"
Why is his statements always at conflict with the person in charge of water?
Does he have a hidden agenda?
Flanagan should be helped to find that resignation in the draw and he could then move on to greener pastures! We hope!!!
5:51 PM, April 30, 2009
Real need for a gag order!
8:08 PM, April 30, 2009
There is no doubt Toowoomba will run out of water. Relying on bores is poor science and a temporary solution at best. The salinity in Toowoombas groundwater has been rising rapidly in certain spots for over 12 months.
Without recharge we will simply kill the aquifer, and end up with one like the lockyer valley with salinity issues (of which there is sufficient evidence reinforcing this position).
9:54 PM, May 03, 2009
What the Toowoomba Regional Council says:
27 February 2009
2. Emergency GAB Bores - Hydrogeological Modelling
Australasian Groundwater and Environmental Pty Ltd (AGE) undertook numerical modelling of the impacts of sourcing 5,000ML per annum of GAB water from the Cooby Dam/Meringandan area. Their final report dated November 2007 concluded that the modelling results show no significant additional long term impacts on the Helidon Sandstone aquifer. The modelling showed that, during periods of extraction, some impacts can be expected in nearby areas to the borefield, however due to the elastic nature of the aquifer once the extraction is over, the water levels rapidly recover to a level just under the predicted level had the extraction not occurred. To minimise capital costs as well as operational and maintenance costs, the modelling investigation ended with a concentration of bores in the vicinity of Cooby Dam.
10:56 PM, May 03, 2009
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