Pipeline wrangle turns off recycling ...

Mains water instead of recycled water is flowing through the "purple pipes" of new homes in the northern suburbs because of administrative squabbling over a pipeline from a recycled-water plant.

See - Adelaide Now - Pipeline wrangle turns off recycling.

Melbourne to have Australia's largest seawater desalination plant ...

The Australian:

Victoria's $3.5bn desalination plant to defy slump

31 July 2009

Victoria has pulled off what is said to be the biggest public-private partnership in the world since the global financial crisis began with the announcement of the successful tenderer for its $3.5billion desalination plant.

Infrastructure experts said the deal smashed the accepted norm that the most that could be raised for such projects since the crisis began was $500million, and it was being watched closely across the world.

The landmark desalination deal is a possible sign that the credit freeze is thawing and banks are preparing to increase the capital flow for attractive infrastructure projects.

Premier John Brumby announced yesterday that the AquaSure consortium -- comprised of French company Degremont and local constructor Thiess and financier Macquarie -- had won the right to build the plant.

To get the project across the line, the government has been forced to act as a lender of last resort if plans by AquaSure to syndicate about $2 billion of the debt by bringing in superannuation funds and other investors did not succeed. Mr Brumby said the project was fully funded and he did not expected this to be required. If it is called upon, the money would be sourced by Treasury in debt markets and passed on to the consortium at market rates.

The desalination plant -- which will be Australia's largest -- will be financed by NAB, Westpac and several international banks. Investors in China, Japan and Korea have also taken an equity stake. Mr Brumby praised the consortium for coming up with the finance during the financial crisis and said the 150 billion-litre-a-year plant would put Victoria on the road to removing water restrictions.

...

See - Victoria's $3.5bn desalination plant to defy slump.

4350water blog looks back 3 years on ...

See - 4350water blog remembers the struggle.

Apparently it was OK to say NO.

4350water blog update - The top 10 people/groups who supported the Yes campaign ...

... yet contributed to its failure.

Worth revisiting for a 2009 update.

1. (former) Mayor Di Thorley

Far and away the clear winner. She was at times both the Yes campaign's greatest asset and its greatest weakness.

Her 'you'll drink it or you can buy bottled water' approach to community engagement offended many Toowoomba residents right at the outset of the debate.

She sought to bludgeon her way to a Yes vote win, creating a culture of fear both within the Council and in the broader community. (The Sydney Morning Herald named it her 'take no prisoners' approach to recycled water.)

Unwilling to attend any forum in Toowoomba to discuss community concerns regarding her recycled sewage project. Preferred to spend time at water recycling conferences around Australia preaching to the converted.

Has since had a makeover, made an appearance on ABC's Media Watch and presided over Carnival activities.

2009 - After telling the media she would run again as Mayor in 2008, she backflipped saying she'd promised her children she wouldn't. Long thought to harbour secret plans to leave Toowoomba after the recycled water initiative, she did just that - moving to Tasmania. Now running a pub there. Seems she may have finally sold her Toowoomba house, 2 years after initially advertising it.

2. MP Malcolm Turnbull

Tried his best to coerce Toowoomba into voting in favour of the great recycled sewage experiment.

His 'drink it or you'll get no federal funding' approach to recycled water was appalling.

He sought to rely on Mayor Thorley's scare tactic of Toowoomba running out of water with the added bonus of no federal funding for other alternatives.

Paid a flying visit to Toowoomba which cost countless Yes votes then joked at a Brisbane function that he was making the guests drink Toowoomba recycled water. A number of No campaigners wished he would have returned for another visit prior to 29 July - his visit seemed to be worth at least a couple of percentage points to the No campaign.

Still heading up Water issues for the Federal government - has no current plans to introduce a similar recycled water for drinking scheme into his electorate of Wentworth in Sydney - what ever happened to leading by example?

2009 - Now somewhat embattled Federal opposition leader.

3. (former) Deputy Mayor Joe Ramia

He promised to 'drop a rock' on people who opposed the Mayor's recycled sewage plans.

His aggressive and threatening style left many Toowoomba residents scratching their heads in bewilderment.

He also showed he had never read the Council's NWC funding application (although he wasn't the only one!), giving Toowoomba residents little confidence in his abilities as head of the Council's Water portfolio. Always odd that the head of the Water portfolio is one of Toowoomba's most prolific water users.

Failed to follow through on his promise to resign his Water portfolio if the No vote succeeded.

Still the Deputy Mayor - plans for the 2008 Council elections as yet unknown.

2009 - Only Toowoomba City Council councillor to survive amalgamation election. Now deals with tourism issues and rarely heard from.

4. (former) Premier Peter Beattie

His State government was an early and late supporter of Mayor Thorley's campaign (and largely silent in between).

He gave us quotes such as "It has never been the state government's policy to pump recycled water into dams" and "I repeat: using recycled water for drinking is not my government's policy" and declared that Toowoomba was an experiment and personally he wouldn't drink it.

Still the Premier.

2009 - Forced to resign by Canberra-bound juggernaut Kevin Rudd. Said he wouldn't take a government job, only to quickly backflip and take cushy LA trade commissioner role. Still sniping at his opponents back home from the sidelines.

5. Jeff Nolan

He promised a 20,000 signature petition in favour of drinking recycled sewage which would be tabled in Federal parliament.

He formed the Pure H2O group and set about gathering signatures. He failed to understand any of the previous studies and polls on drinking recycled sewage and his petition quietly died with Pure H2O imploding shortly after. The petition sheets can still be seen gathering dust in the odd doctor's surgery waiting room around Toowoomba.

He also qualifies for writing so many letters to the Chronicle that people really believed that a No vote meant 'no more Jeff Nolan'.

Still teaching. Not known to be requesting that Council make regular deliveries of NEWater to his house for his consumption.

2009 - MIA - no public profile.

6. Kirstie Smolenski

Another member of the Pure H2O group who decided that drinking recycled water was so good for you that she would have a national newspaper photograph her feeding it to her children.

Famously circulated the 'dihydrogen monoxide' email to Yes campaign supporters.

Also known for writing copious letters to the Chronicle. At one point, she claimed that the recycled sewage project would cause Toowoomba property prices to skyrocket, basing her belief on price increases in Orange county real estate. (Interestingly, San Diego real estate prices skyrocketed during they same period after they shelved their recycled sewage project. Perhaps there was another reason for the price increases in California?!)

Still writing letters to the Chronicle and just gave birth to another child - must be something in the water!

2009 - MIA - no public profile. Should probably revise her thoughts on skyrocketing property prices in Orange County, California.

7. Dr Greg Leslie

An early arrival to (and departure from) the Toowoomba debate. He proclaimed that he would let his 5 year old drink the recycled water.

Was Toowoomba City Council's initial golden boy - touted by Council in the Toowoomba media, Council minutes and correspondence as their independent expert. Subsequently shown to be still consulting to his old employer, CH2M Hill, the company most likely to build the recycled sewage facility.

Not known to use the word 'Toowoomba' any more.

2009 - Still messing around with recycled water. Still doesn't use the word 'Toowoomba' in any presentation on recycled water.

8. Drew Hutton and the Greens

Sought to hijack the referendum and turn it into an anti-dam festival.

Recruited people to come to Toowoomba to hand out how-to-vote cards on polling day. Seemed to think that drinking recycled water was the only alternative to building Premier Beattie's dams.

Awaiting next State election.

2009 - Awaiting the next election - as always.

9. Council's Yes campaign team

A team which had $460,000 of ratepayers' funds at its disposal during the referendum period and could do little better than handing out balloons, movie passes, lollies, pizza and soft drink as it tried to convince Toowoomba residents to drink recycled sewage.

Had a habit of visiting schools to scare the children and thought marching the city's children through town was a great way to win votes. Circulated a weekly guide to their upcoming activities which was always fun to read.

Generally disbursed back to other council activities.

2009 - Some shifted to QWC for their failed propaganda campaign. Others now with TRC or moved on elsewhere.

10. Linda Macpherson/CH2M Hill

Paid over $200,000 in consultancy fees and could do little better than reproduce incorrect brochures from the Singapore NEWater facility which showed nothing got through the membranes.

And who could forget the Disneyland photo! Stuff ups like this were free kicks for the opposition.

The CH2M Hill juggernaut continues on its merry way.

2009 - Continuing on its merry way.

And one more for good measure:

11. Jenifer Simpson and the Australian Water Association (AWA)

With her background as an anti-dam lobbyist, Jenifer Simpson provided us with the '6 star rating guide to recycled water' and invented psychiatric disorders such as 'hydro-coprophobia':

"Well, 'coprophobia' is...is actually a real word and it means 'a fear of faeces' so I've put a 'hydro' on the front of it which means 'a fear of wastewater'." (ABC Four Corners).

Known for the odd scare tactic: "Swimming pools, I think, will be a thing of the past. I don't know what the Olympic swimmers are going to do. They'll have to practise in the sea, won't they?" (ABC Four Corners)

And seems somewhat fixated on the terms used to describe recycled sewage - Plunder down under.

Together with the AWA, she organised an 'independent' forum in Toowoomba to tell Toowoomba residents that recycled water was the best option (but no-one seemed willing to discuss the other options). The forum included vote winning statements such as "If Toowoomba doesn't do it [vote in favour of drinking recycled sewage] the Mary River will be dammed".

Believed looking for next target.

2009 - Wrote another misleading picture book, this time with NWC assistance. Swimming pools for Olympic swimmers not extinct yet.

Toowoomba Regional Council doubles the price of water ...

“Council has had to make some tough decisions about water in this year’s budget. Water access charges for people on Toowoomba’s bulk water supply will double. The half-yearly fee of $160 per connection will go to $320, to help fund the pipeline."
...

“In addition water consumption costs will be increased to $1.50 per kilolitre (KL) from 80 cents per kilolitre for those consuming less than 100KL/half year (100 kilolitres/half year equates to approx 220 litres/person/day assuming 2.5 people per household) and from $1.50/KL to $2.90/KL for those using more than 100KL/half year."
...

See - Toowoomba Regional Council - Water prices doubled.

A new profit centre ...

Does European fluoride ruling mean Anna Bligh has ruined Qld's European export markets ...

Courier Mail:

European Court rules fluoridated water is medicine

28 July 2009

Fluoride opponents around Queensland have been handed a new weapon in their fight to reverse the Bligh Government's mass medication program.

The European Court has ruled that fluoridated water must be treated as a medicine and cannot be used in the manufacture of consumable products.

While the immediate impact is on Continental manufacturers it will also apply to Australian companies which supply Europe with goods.

To gain entry they will have to prove their product was made with water that was not fluoridated.

...

See - Courier Mail - European Court rules fluoridated water is medicine.

Oops!

More water woes for Anna Bligh ...

Recycled water debate - 3 years on ...

A spirited discussion ...

See - Toowoomba Regional Council set to blame rate rise on 32,330 NO voters - comments.

Anna Bligh spends $63 million on indoor plants etc ...

... including Qld's Health whopping $30 million spend on indoor plants, stationery and subscriptions.

See - Sunday Mail - $63m spent on pens, plants.

Toowoomba Regional Council in the red - can't balance its books ...

The Chronicle:

CEO warns of $6.5m shortfall

25 July 2009

Just four days out from the release of the Toowoomba Regional Council budget, newly appointed chief executive officer Ken Gouldthorp addressed the Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

It was spruiked to be showdown between Mr Gouldthorp and developers angry about new infrastructure and development charges.

Instead, Mr Gouldthorp used the occasion to calmly brace businesses and Toowoomba ratepayers about the impending budget.

Mr Gouldthorp, who has been with the council since April, made several references to the State Government’s withdrawal of important funding allocations.

“The State Government’s budget has had a massive effect on our budget,” Mr Gouldthorp said.

“Two-and-half weeks out from our budget announcement, a lot of recurring funding has been withdrawn.

“They leave us with a $6.5 million hole.

“This will have a significant cost effect on us.”

The TRC budget will be handed down on Tuesday.

See - The Chronicle - CEO warns of $6.5m shortfall.

Cost of drought set to hit ratepayers hard

The Chronicle:

Cost of drought set to hit ratepayers hard

25 July 2009

The implications of Toowoomba’s 10-year-long drought are being used to prepare Toowoomba Regional Council ratepayers for significant increases in water charges in this year’s council budget.

Water Services portfolio leader Cr Paul Antonio said yesterday the 2009/2010 budget would reflect the economic ramifications of the drought.

A huge, extra impost on Toowoomba ratepayers will be the construction of the $187 million pipeline from Wivenhoe Dam to Lake Cressbrook.

Despite reasonable rainfall across the region over recent months, Toowoomba’s dam storages sit at under 11 per cent capacity.

Cr Antonio said he was confident essential new infrastructure, to be in place by the end of 2009, will drought-proof the Toowoomba region and ensure a long-term sustainable water supply.

“However, this drought insurance comes at a significant cost.

“Council has invested $15 million in supplementary bore water infrastructure as part of its drought contingency plans.

“The pipeline from Wivenhoe is now 60% complete and on target to provide water to Lake Cressbrook in early 2010.

“This pipeline, to be jointly funded by council and the State Government, will significantly impact this year’s budget.

“This $200 million investment in water infrastructure will underpin commerce across the region and ensure ongoing employment and business prospects,” Cr Antonio said.

Council’s 2009/2010 budget will be delivered next Tuesday.

See - The Chronicle - Cost of drought set to hit ratepayers hard.

Toowoomba Regional Council set to blame rate rise on 32,330 NO voters ...

You can see it coming.

Toowoomba Regional Council has delayed the announcement of its Budget and rate hikes for the coming year until 28 July, the eve of the recycled water poll anniversary.

Rates will go up and the Toowoomba Regional Council need someone to blame.

They can't blame the amalgamation because Anna Bligh won't be happy.

They can't blame their own failure to obtain State and Federal funds for infrastructure because the one thing this Council will never do is accept blame for its own shortcomings.

The 3rd anniversary of the recycled water poll is then a real opportunity to lay blame for the rate rise on those pesky NO voters, all 32,330 of them.

It must be their fault.

If only the Council had been able to proceed with former Mayor Thorley's recycled water white elephant, Toowoomba would have been saved the costs of the Wivenhoe pipeline.

Never mind that the former Toowoomba City Council studiously avoided telling anyone what the real cost of the recycled water white elephant would have been.

Somewhere in the range of $200 million to $250 million ++ is a pretty good guess - if it had ever worked at all. And an accompanying debt burden which would probably have bankrupted the city's finances. And no real solution to Toowoomba's water source issues.

That would have been the true legacy of the Toowoomba City Council.

Still, they will try to blame the NO voters.

The Chronicle will probably phone the former Mayor and some of the former Councillors for their comments. They'll all blame the NO voters too, not just for the rate increases but for also losing their comfortable jobs and gourmet sandwiches. Unhappy in defeat.

The Chronicle may also seek comment from some of the more noteworthy Toowoomba Regional Council employees. They will probably say that their recycled water ideas were right and the rate hikes prove it. They will just never admit to what would have been the true cost of their recycled water folly.

Mayor Taylor will probably even add that it's not his fault, it's someone else's fault - it always is.

So that's what the Toowoomba Regional Council may be planning. Or has the rug just been pulled out from underneath them ...

Pressure mounts on Toowoomba Regional Council over wastewater treatment plant ...

The Chronicle:

Pressure mounts on council

20 July 2009

Pressure is mounting for the Toowoomba Regional Council to explain why it has failed to seal a $900,000 land deal for a wastewater treatment plant at Westbrook.

Former Jondaryan Shire Council CEO Noel Cass and former councillor Annette Frizzell slammed the council last week for not proceeding with the sale, which the former shire council approved in 2007.

A Toowoomba Regional Council spokeswoman said the arrangement with the landholder was subject to Environmental Protection Agency, now the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), approval.

“Approval for the Wastewater Treatment Plant as proposed on the land was not forthcoming and the arrangement is at an end,” the spokeswoman said.

However, David Darvall from the DERM said the department’s role was only to provide advice to council.

“The decision to proceed with the sewage treatment plant or not, rested solely with the Toowoomba Regional Council,” he said.

Mr Darvall said DERM provided a number of conditions to the council before it made its decision.

“These conditions addressed a number of environmental factors associated with the site including shallow soils and groundwater, poor drainage and the adequate leaching of salts from the soil profile.

“DERM also had some concerns with the site’s ability to recycle and release adequate water during periods of wet weather and during periods of minimal irrigation demand.”

Lawyers have been hired by the owner of the land to negotiate with council over the failed contract.

Mr Cass has labelled the failure to buy the chosen site an “absolute disgrace” and a “complete waste of public money”.

He said “well over $1 million on planning, studies and consultants” was spent.

See - The Chronicle - TRC under pressure.

Former Beattie Minister Gordon Nuttall jailed for 7 years

See - Courier Mail - Gordon Nuttall jailed for corruption.

Former Beattie Minister Gordon Nuttall found guilty ...

See - Courer Mail - Gordon Nuttall found guilty of receiving corrupt payments.

The possible new charges relate to allegations that Nuttall received more than $180,000 in cash from a businessman involved in a Queensland Health-funded, multi-million-dollar project that did not go out to tender.

The $2.1 million waste-water project was awarded just before Nuttall was sacked as health minister in 2005, after he was found to have misled a parliamentary estimates hearing, amid the Dr Jayant Patel scandal, over his knowledge of problems with overseas-trained doctors in Queensland.

Nuttall and several businessmen involved in the project have been questioned by the CMC.

See - Courier Mail - Corrupt ex-minister Gordon Nuttall faces more charges.

Toowoomba Regional Council's secret meetings over wastewater treatment plant debacle ...

The Chronicle:

Cass labels 'purchase' an 'absolute disgrace'

15 July 2009

Lawyers have been brought in to sort out a conflict over the location of the western regional waste water treatment plant, which has already cost ratepayers about $1 million.

Former Jondaryan Shire Council CEO Noel Cass has called a failure to buy a site chosen for the plant an “absolute disgrace” and a “complete waste of public money”.

The issue involves a block of farmland in Westbrook.

The lot was chosen as the site of a new, $8 million sewage treatment plant to service Westbrook, Glenvale, Charlton and the western suburbs of Toowoomba.

Jondaryan councillors, led by Mayor Peter Taylor, voted in January 2007 to buy about 14 hectares for nearly $900,000.

A $200,000 deposit was paid; $20,000 of this was non-refundable, along with interest from the remaining $180,000.

Mr Cass said the purchase came after the spending of “well over $1 million on planning, studies and consultants” which confirmed the block was in the correct location and addressed Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

What happened next?

It depends on who you ask.

The sale never went through.

Amalgamation happened.

And lawyers have been hired by the owner of the block to negotiate with the new Toowoomba Regional Council over the failed contract.

A council spokeswoman said the project was not approved by the EPA and the “arrangement (with the land holder) is at an end”.

This is disputed by Mr Cass.

“EPA matters are and were a red herring.

“We addressed those concerns in the early days. Any EPA hesitation in later days was only because of representation from other councils,” he said.

Sources have told The Chronicle the council had been paying between $5000 and $7500 a month to hold the land.

That payment has been stopped, but the council will not confirm when it was halted or how much was paid monthly.

“No ongoing fees are being paid for the land,” the spokesperson said.

“TRC will not make further comment other than to say it is mindful that ratepayers' funds are not used to purchase land that can not be used for the intended purpose and can not deliver the desired outcomes to the community.”

Mayor Peter Taylor said he could not be “frank” about the situation, because it was now the subject of the legal dispute.

The owner of the land refused to comment other than to say the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.

Council discussed the matter in a committee meeting yesterday that was closed to the public.

See - The Chronicle - Cass labels 'purchase' an 'absolute disgrace'.

More secret meetings over wastewater treatment plants.

Did we all just wake up and it was 2005 all over again ...

San Diego - Councillor backflips on recycled sewage support ...

Voice of San Diego (annotated):

Lightner Tries to Recycle Sewage Vote

6 July 2009

A San Diego city councilwoman is having second thoughts about the city's plan to turn recycled sewage into drinking water.

Councilwoman Sherri Lightner has asked the council to vote Tuesday to revoke a $438,000 contract it approved in March -- a key part of the city's examination of recycled sewage as a drinking-water supply.

Her push to revoke the contract demonstrates the tenuousness of the support for the potential water source by the new City Council, which added four new members in December. While Lightner has so far raised only technical issues and previously supported the concept, sewage recycling proponents worry that they may have lost their once solid majority on the council.

The city approved a multi-year, $11.8-million study in late 2007 to determine whether sewage can safely be purified, dumped in the San Vicente Reservoir and eventually consumed by humans. The council temporarily raised water rates last year to pay for the study -- the first step before the city would consider whether to dump millions of gallons of purified sewage a day into the reservoir.

And in March, City Council, in a 5-3 vote, approved a $438,000 contract for a key part of the study -- modeling how recycled sewage would mix in the reservoir and how long it would stay before being pulled out into the city's drinking water pipes. The study is needed for the California Department of Health Services to grant regulatory approval.

Council's vote on a sole-source contract for Flow Science Inc. should mirror its vote on the program as a whole. But Lightner, who voted to approve the contract, is now raising questions about it. She says she's concerned about the way the company is modeling how long recycled sewage would stay in the reservoir.

But some worry that it might be more than that.

Lani Lutar, president and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, said she believes Lightner won't consistently support sewage recycling. "There is a concern that Councilmember Lightner's concerns are on the overall concept of indirect potable reuse rather than this specific contract," Lutar said.

Lightner said she wants to delay the contract until she has assurances that the California Department of Health Services would find the study's results adequate. San Diego would be the first entity in the state to receive approval to dump recycled sewage in an above-ground drinking water reservoir.

"The California Department of Health has no standards, the federal government has no standards," Lightner said. "We're operating in a strange place right now. It would be nice to have more focused direction."

Jim Barrett, the city's public utilities director, told Lightner in a June 25 memo that the company's approach was scientifically valid. The state Department of Health Services is "pleased" with the model and the choice of Flow Science, Barrett wrote.

If Lightner had raised the same concerns in March, she likely would've been able to stall the project. Now, however, her effort won't go far. Councilman Kevin Faulconer, who has opposed sewage recycling, doesn't support Lightner's request, giving sewage recycling proponents a key swing vote.

Faulconer "does not support reneging on a contract with a company doing business with the city," said his spokesman, Tony Manolatos. "It sets a bad precedent and could affect future contracts."

Lightner's actions highlight the sensitivities still lingering about recycled sewage in arid San Diego, even as the region copes with a water shortage for the first time in two decades.

Orange County began pumping recycled sewage into its drinking water aquifers last year. That effort was widely endorsed by politicians and other local officials there, avoiding the stigma conjured in San Diego, where recycled sewage has been derided with the moniker "toilet-to-tap."

[Some] Scientists say recycled sewage - purified largely in the same way that seawater is desalinated - is cleaner than conventional drinking water supplies. But the concept has been slow to take hold in San Diego.

Nonetheless, sewage recycling has had the support of a majority of council in recent years, with former Council President Scott Peters pushing it forward over the objections of Mayor Jerry Sanders. But Peters, along with fellow proponent Jim Madaffer, were termed out in December.

Bruce Reznik, executive director of San Diego Coastkeeper, an environmental group, said the departures of Peters and Madaffer raised "some worry about whether people coming in would have that commitment."

Reznik said he hopes Lightner's concerns are just technical questions. "Hopefully this isn't a more fundamental issue," he said. "If there is, then there's a problem."

Lightner said her concerns are limited in scope. She said she wants to ensure that public health and taxpayer dollars are protected as the study moves forward.

"If we're going to study it," she said, "we need to study it right."

See - Voices of San Diego - Lightner Tries to Recycle Sewage Vote.

"San Diego would be the first entity in the state to receive approval to dump recycled sewage in an above-ground drinking water reservoir."

"The California Department of Health has no standards, the federal government has no standards," Lightner said. "We're operating in a strange place right now. It would be nice to have more focused direction."

Thought it was done everywhere - that's what the Toowoomba City Council and Qld government told us ...

NSW government bottled water ban caught up in lengthy contracts ...

See - Daily Telegraph - Nathan Rees caught out by bottled water contract.

NSW government bans bottled water ...

ABC News:

Govt jumps on bottle ban bandwagon

8 July 2009

New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees has ordered all State Government departments and agencies to stop buying bottled water, following swiftly on plans for a small-town ban.

The measure comes hot on today's news that the NSW Southern Highlands town of Bundanoon is set to become the first community in Australia to ban the sale of bottled water.

Mr Rees already ordered all ministerial offices in Sydney's CBD to make do with tap water when he took on the top job last year.

He has today extended that instruction, saying the State Government should lead by example.

"We're asking government departments to phase it out unless there is obvious and practical commonsense reasons not to in the event someone doesn't have cool water in a hot environment," he said.

The Premier says the move will save taxpayer money and help reduce the impact on the environment of producing and throwing away plastic bottles.

Mr Rees is also planning a public campaign to discourage the use of bottled water by the wider community.

Residents in Bundanoon are meanwhile preparing to vote on their town's plan to ban local shops from selling plastic bottles of water at a community meeting tonight.

Local businesses in the town of 2,500 people are proposing to replace the bottles with reusables and then offer directions to filtered water fountains that will be installed on the main street.

The 'Bundy on tap' campaign was suggested by Bundanoon businessman, Huw Kingston, after a company applied to pump water out of a local aquifer to supply the bottled market.

"I put a little article, 'Does Bundanoon have the bottle to go bottled-water-free?' in our local newsletter," he told ABC Radio's AM program this morning. "I guess we have gone on from there."

Mr Kingston believes there will be widespread support for the plan.

"I think there is an overwhelming opposition to the marketing scam that is stilled bottled water," he said.

Other cities around the world have taxed bottled water and have put in place measures similar to the ones Nathan Rees has announced today.

Environmentalist Jon Dee from activist group Do Something believes Bundanoon could be the first town in the world to ban bottled water entirely.

"Huge amounts of resources are used to extract, bottle and transport that bottled water, and much of the package ends up as litter or landfill," he said.

"Environmentally, it makes no sense and... what we are trying to do in Bundanoon is show that a community can live without single-use bottled water."

Mr Dee, who was behind the campaign that saw plastic bags banned in the Tasmanian town of Coles Bay, says other towns around the country would not find it hard to follow Bundanoon's lead.

"If Bundanoon can ban bottled water, many other towns and communities around Australia will also consider their usage of bottled water," he said.

"At the very least, if they don't ban it, then at least they will reduce their usage of it and in doing so, reduce the half-a-billion dollars a year that Australians are spending on bottled water."

Mr Kingston says visitors to Bundanoon will not be set upon if they are seen sipping water from a plastic bottle.

"We are fairly civilised people down here. Nobody is going to get lynched for carrying a bottle of prepackaged water down the main street of Bundanoon," he said.

But he hopes the ban will make them think twice about how they quench their thirst.

See - ABC News - Govt jumps on bottle ban bandwagon.

Bottled water industry frets over town ban ...

ABC News:

Know the facts before banning bottled water: Institute

8 July 2009

The Australasian Bottled Water Institute says it is important Bundanoon residents are well-informed before voting on whether to ban bottled water in the town.

A community meeting is being held tonight to decide whether the New South Wales southern highlands town will become free of bottled water.

The "Bundy on Tap" campaign would see businesses stop selling pre-packaged bottled water in favour of reusable drink bottles.

But Institute director Geoff Parker says residents need to be aware of misinformation about the health and environmental impacts of bottled water.

"I think what is important and certainly any community decision and particularly the one tonight is based on factual evidence and not hype by certain minority - albeit very vocal - parts of the community," he said.

See - ABC News - Know the facts before banning bottled water: Institute.

WA - Recycled drinking water 'a tough sell' ...

ABC News:

Recycled drinking water 'a tough sell'

7 July 2009

Western Australia's Opposition says the Government is going to have a tough job convincing Perth residents to drink recycled water.

The Water Minister, Graham Jacobs, has released a strategy to address the rapid decline of water levels in the Gnangara system, which provides 60 per cent of Perth's water supply.

If the recommendations are adopted, the groundwater system will be recharged with recycled water.

Dr Jacobs says West Australians need to get used to the idea, despite the 'yuck' factor.

The Opposition's spokesman for water, Fran Logan, supports the strategy, but says he is concerned about the public response to the longer-term recommendation to source water directly from waste water treatment plants.

"With respect to taking waste water directly from a sewerage works and then putting them through a recycling plant and turning it into straight drinking water, I think the Minister is going to have a big job on his hands convincing West Australians that's fine and that's ok to drink," he said.

Mr Logan says more money needs to be spent expanding the aquifer.

"The Minister has allowed his portfolio to be slashed," he said.

"If he [Graham Jacobs] stood up for his portfolio, he might be able to get some of that critical money poured into the infrastructure that we need to manage the state's water resources and ensure our water security into the future, particularly as we go into increasingly drying years."

The draft strategy is open for public comment for two months.

See - ABC News - Recycled drinking water 'a tough sell'.


Recycled water is such a political football.

In Qld, Labor says drink it and the LibNats say don't.

In WA, the Libs say drink it and Labor says don't.

Confused ...

WA Minister talking up drinking recycled water ...

ABC News:

WA Minister talking up drinking recycled water.

6 July 2009

The Minister for Water Graham Jacobs says West Australians will eventually have to get used to the idea of drinking recycled water.

Dr Jacobs has released a strategy to address the rapid decline of the Gnangara groundwater system, which provides 60 per cent of Perth's water supply.

The draft strategy is open for public comment for the next eight weeks.

Its recommendations include recharging the groundwater system with recycled water, and in the longer term sourcing water directly from a wastewater treatment plant.

Dr Jacobs says recycled water is already being used for industrial and irrigation purposes, and it's only a matter of time before it's used for drinking supplies.

He says he has just returned from Singapore where reycled drinking water is used widely.

There is always the yuk factor, and I think as I said in Singapore they've overcome that," he said.

"This would be done in stages, and it'd be very carefully monitored.

"It won't be introduced tomorrow but we need to work towards it.

The Minister says the draft strategy also recommends replacing pine plantations with annual grassland by 2028.

It also suggests the government investigates opportunities for the accelarated removal of plantations.

Dr Jacobs says harvest contracts will be honoured.

"We're not going to chase the pine plantation owners off the Gnangara mound tomorrow.

"But we have a plan over the next 20 years in order to reduce the abstraction of the pine plantation on the Gnangara mound and have alternatives."

See - ABC News - WA Minister talking up drinking recycled water.

Someone's done the Singapore NEWater tour.

The real facts however are:

Singapore uses max. 1% recycled water for potable use.

Singapore has South-East Asia's largest seawater desalination plant.

Singapore hotels routinely supply bottled water for guests and it isn't NEWater ...

Toowoomba water - Wivenhoe to Cressbrook Dam pipeline project on track ...

The Chronicle:

Pipeline project on track

6 July 2009

Toowoomba is well on the way to receiving its first water from the Wivenhoe Pipeline, with 60 per cent of the installation now in the ground.

“We are on track to completing this project by January next year, so Toowoomba residents can breathe an early sigh of relief,” Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Stirling Hinchliffe said.

“Just four months after the first pipe was laid, we are almost two-thirds complete in this phase of construction.”

The Toowoomba Pipeline Alliance has this week laid more than 23 kilometres of the 38 kilometre pipeline linking Wivenhoe to Cressbrook Dam. It will reach the two-thirds installation milestone (25km) by Friday, unless it is held up by rain.

Crews have also commenced construction of one of the two pumps which will draw water from Wivenhoe, push it up a 260-metre elevation at the highest point along the pipeline corridor and deliver it to Cressbrook Dam.

Mr Hinchliffe visited the construction site near Wivenhoe Dam on Friday to help the Toowoomba Pipeline Alliance celebrate its latest milestone.

“While south-east Queensland’s dams sit at 76% of capacity after the rain in May, we should not forget that Toowoomba’s dams received very little from that rain event,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

The combined level of the Garden City’s three dams increased by only 1.5% to 10.9%, despite 100 millimetres of rain falling over the catchment area in mid-May.

“I’m also told the project has directly injected more than $6.5 million into the local community through the purchase of goods and services,” he said.

“The team has tested nine kilometres of pipeline already and, so far, they have a 100% success rate. Testing during construction ensures any faults can be picked up and fixed up early,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

Mayor Peter Taylor said the pipeline was essential.

“The drought, together with the fact that Toowoomba is built on the top of the range 670 metres above sea level, provides unique engineering and operational challenges in the provision of potable water,” he said.

The Toowoomba Pipeline, which has the capacity to deliver 14,200 megalitres (ML) of water a year to Cressbrook Dam, or 39 ML per day if needed, is being constructed by an alliance formed by LinkWater Projects, including Clough Projects, Diversified Construction and AECOM.

See - The Chronicle - Pipeline project on track.

Brisbane dam levels at 77.16% ...

.... according to SEQwater ...

Brisbane dam levels at 76.94% ...

.... according to SEQwater ...

Anna Bligh's desal plant builders threatened with legal action ...

Brisbane Times:

Desal plant builders threatened with legal action

2 July 2009

Builders of the $1.2 billion Tugun desalination plant face a legal settlement of "tens of millions of dollars" if they cannot make repairs to 16 issues identified in a report given to the State Government this morning.

Infrastructure Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said while fixes for some problems - including replacing 45 rusting pipe couplings - were underway, other issues would require the plant to shut down for at least "two to three months".

The Tugun Desalination plant is being built by John Holland and Veolia Water Australia and was supposed to be able to provide 125 megalitres of water to Queensland's $9 billion Water Grid by January 2009.

The Tugun plant shut down in April after a string of complaints was revealed in January, including the corrosion in the pipe couplings and excessive vibration in parts of the desalination plant.

Mr Hinchliffe said the builders needed to continue replacing other stainless steel piping, fixing leaks into the 70-metre intake shaft and changing wrongly-installed high-pressure pumps.

"They face a significant pay day in the order of tens of millions if they don't meet our requirements," Mr Hinchliffe said.

He could not specify when that decision would be made, but said the desalination plant, the largest on Australia's east coast, would be brought up to 100 per cent capacity by the end of July.

Mr Hinchliffe said the report identified a series of issues which still need to be addressed before the State Government - through the company who will manage the plant, Water Secure - take ownership of the desalination plant.

"It is like building a house, in every circumstance those people who build a house do the inspections and they raise issues with the builder to get things resolved before they make that final payment," Mr Hinchliffe said.

He said $95 million was set aside in the Queensland Government's 2009-10 Budget for the final payment on the plant, which has already sent 4.5 million litres of water to the grid.

The report named the following issues that still need to be repaired:

- corrosion to 26 non-return valves because of manufacturing errors.They will be delivered by September 2009;

- lower-grade steel was used in places throughout the plant. This needs to be replaced meaning "shutting down the plant for "two to three months";

- minor cracking in the intake and outlet shaft of the plant, allowing groundwater into the shaft. There is a possibility this has allowed leachate from a nearby landfill to contaminate the groundwater, though this was this morning denied by Keith Davies, the CEO of WaterSecure.

- incorrect water pressure pumps have been used in parts of the plant, which the reports says "will result in an increase in the plant's power consumption" and a "likely increase in the annual running costs."

Mr Davies estimated this would add "tens of thousands of dollars" to the plant's running costs, but did not elaborate how this would impact on the price of water from the desalination plant.

Mr Hinchliffe said it would not affect the price of water.

See - Brisbane Times - Desal plant builders threatened with legal action.

Residents say buildings cracking near Anna Bligh's desal plant ...

Courier Mail:

Residents say buildings cracking near Gold Coast desal plant

3 July 2009

Homes and a leagues club near the Gold Coast desalination plant are cracking and sagging in another debacle surrounding the so-called showpiece of the $9 billion southeast Queensland water grid, residents say.

The complaints came as the Bligh Government admitted that taxpayers might receive a final plant with defects, despite repeated claims the project would not be accepted from contractors until all problems were fixed.

The Courier-Mail revealed yesterday that the $1.2 billion Tugun plant was plagued with problems including corroding pipework, cracking concrete, faulty valves and leaching of contaminants from a rubbish dump.

Other faults detected in the review include corroding pipes, sub-standard valves, excessive vibration, inefficient motors and faulty concrete intake and outake shafts which are taking in groundwater, and possibly contaminants, from a rubbish dump on which the desalination plant was built.

The problems prompted the State Government to order an independent inquiry. It is refusing to accept handover of the plant, which is still only operating at one-third capacity seven months after it opened, until contractors fix the faults. Locals say the plant has been a disaster for the area, causing damage to homes including cracked walls and ceilings, sagging windows and doors and lifting and shifting driveways and patios.

The Tugun Leagues Club has suffered some of the worst damage, with major cracks and other structural problems and sinking grounds.

Club officials say construction and vibrations from the neighbouring plant have left the club "looking like a warzone".

"It's dangerous for the players, supporters and members," life member and former president Mark Goodwin said.

"The conditions are Third World."

The club's junior president, Greg Solway, said the club had been promised a new headquarters on nearby land but that was now in limbo because of future plans to expand the desalination plant.

"If they take this away from us, they may as well give a (graffiti) spray can to every kid in the area, because the footy club is such a big part of this community," he said.

Southern Gold Coast Liberal MP Jann Stuckey said there had been many complaints.

She said a burst pipe had caused major damage to a Tugun road last year "and could have killed someone".

"My concern is that when the desalination plant finally does run at full capacity, there will be more faults and more damage," she said.

Ms Stuckey said 360 homes around the desalination plant and pipeline were given structural inspections before the facility was built but only 36 had been tested since it was finished.

Infrastructure Minister Stirling Hinchliffe insisted the plant, which had operated at 100 per cent capacity for "only one or two days" since January, would still work properly after the handover.

But he admitted that some sections may have lesser longevity than the promised 50 to 100 year lifespan.

A letter to co-ordinator-general Colin Jensen released yesterday reveals some defects at the plant may be unable to be fixed and may instead require a commercial settlement.

"(That may happen) where the issues are resolved to both parties' satisfaction," Mr Hinchliffe said.

But Opposition infrastructure spokesman David Gibson said the plant problems were symptomatic of broader poor planning from Labor.

"The problems plaguing this desalination plant show exactly what the Auditor-General was talking about - when a project isn't planned properly, costly mistakes can and will happen," Mr Gibson said.

See - Courier Mail - Residents say buildings cracking near Gold Coast desal plant.

Anna Bligh's $1.2b Gold Coast desalination plant a dud ...

Courier Mail:

$1.2b Gold Coast desalination plant a dud

2 July 2009

The showpiece of the State Government's $9 billion water grid, the Gold Coast desalination plant, is a $1.2 billion lemon.

Rusting pipework, cracking concrete, faulty valves and leaching of contaminants from a rubbish dump on which the plant was built are among several serious defects revealed in a report to be given to the Government today.

The Government is refusing to accept ownership of the Tugun facility and has threatened legal action against contractors if the faults are not fixed.

This is after a Freedom of Information application by The Courier-Mail into problems that have plagued the plant since its official opening in November, when it failed to come on line as scheduled.

It has been shut down for weeks at a time for what was claimed to be routine maintenance and is still operating at one-third capacity.

The plant was to have been pumping 125 megalitres of water a day into the southeast Queensland water grid by January, but that did not happen until March, and then only briefly.

In April, the plant, which recently won an international desalination award, was shut down for almost six weeks. Experts have been crawling through pipes to pinpoint problems that the Government admits might not be fixed for months.

More problems have emerged since January, when then infrastructure minister Paul Lucas announced "several issues" needed to be addressed before the Government would accept handover of the plant. Those issues included 45 pipe couplings that were found to be corroding after only a couple of months of stop-start operation. The joiners, which were meant to last 25 years, had to be replaced.

Yesterday, Infrastructure Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said independent experts called in by the Government had found further "serious" faults that threatened the plant's long-term future.

These included concrete cracking in the inlet shaft that takes water from the ocean via a 1.2km pipeline.

Mr Hinchliffe said the cracks were allowing groundwater, and possible contaminants from the Tugun rubbish dump on which the plant was built, to leach into the 70m-deep shaft.

As well, about 400m of stainless steel pipes would have to be replaced after they were found to be not up to specification. Valves at the plant were also substandard and had to be replaced.

"We have literally had men crawling through pipes and pulling things apart (to uncover problems)," Mr Hinchliffe said.

He denied the desalination plant was a white elephant but admitted the problems were "a frustration".

He said the reputation of the plant's contractors, including heavyweights John Holland Constructions and controversial French company Veolia, was at stake and it was in their interests to "get it right".

He said the Government, which budgeted $95 million this year to finish the plant, could withhold final payment to the contractors and take legal action if the faults were not fixed.

"The state won't be accepting the handover of the project until we're satisfied," he said.

"We also reserve the right to exercise our legal rights . . . to ensure the desalination plant that was specified is delivered."

Mr Hinchliffe said the repairs were the contractors' responsibility and taxpayers would not be out of pocket. He insisted the project was still a "fantastic" success, saying it had pumped 4.5 billion litres of water into the water grid.

Some problems had been expected with a project of the desalination plant's scale, Mr Hinchliffe said – and recent heavy rainfall over southeast Queensland had provided breathing space to get the facility working properly.

Despite the problems, Mr Hinchliffe would not rule out building more desalination plants if they were needed.

Other possible desalination plants have been earmarked for Lytton in Brisbane's east and either Bribie Island or Marcooola on the Sunshine Coast.

Former premier Peter Beattie warned that southeast Queenslanders could die if the Tugun desalination plant was not built quickly.

See - Courier Mail - $1.2b Gold Coast desalination plant a dud.