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.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Toowoomba Deputy Mayor Antonio backflips - now Toowoomba won't run out of water ...

The Chronicle:

We won't run dry

22 September 2009

Toowoomba will not run out of water — ever.

That was the strong message from Deputy Mayor Paul Antonio yesterday after a Sunday Mail article this week painted a grim picture of the city’s water supply.

Cr Antonio stressed there was “absolutely no cause for alarm” as the Wivenhoe Dam pipeline neared Cressbrook Dam.

“There is absolutely no way we can run out of water,” he said.

Cr Antonio said Toowoomba’s three dams, Perseverance, Cooby and Cressbrook, were sitting at 9.7 per cent.

Water Services acting director Greg Lindsay said the city was currently using both dam water and basalt bores, with the basalt bores making up about 30% of the total supply.

Mr Lindsay said none of the city’s five Great Artesian Basin bores were currently operating because they were waiting for a permanent power source to be connected to the bore stations.

“Two or three of the artesian bores should be able to come online by the end of October,” he said.

“Earlier in the year for about three months, we were using a generator to run one of the (artesian) bores, but it was far too expensive.”

Cr Antonio said he expected water to be flowing through the Wivenhoe pipeline to Toowoomba by January.

The $187 million pipeline will be able to pump 14,200 million litres of water a year which is more than 50% above the current demand.

When asked if he thought it was irresponsible of The Sunday Mail to portray the situation as dire as it did, Cr Antonio declined to comment.

“But what I will say is that I’m going to be positive about Toowoomba’s water supply rather than negative.”

Chamber of Commerce president Shane Charles said negative stories about the city’s water supply could “certainly” affect out-of-town investment.

“It’s becoming increasingly important that we’ve got a positive message,” Mr Charles said.

“We need to attract business investment and even just visitors to the town.

“Toowoomba has to be seen as a lifestyle destination, but if people perceive that we’ve got water trouble and it is hard to live here, then that doesn’t do us any favours.”

See - The Chronicle - We won't run dry.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This should be printed out and placed on a bill board.
Some-one should send a copy to the Courier Mail too.
Why are we paying for a pipeline from Wivenhoe when we have not even tapped into the GAB water?
To pump that amount of water up a mountain they would have to pump it day and night and we could not afford the electricity bill.
It is an emergency supply only so why does Antonio make such a fuss of how great it will be.

9:59 PM, September 22, 2009

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They must be going after the hard sell as Paul Antonio was on the ABC radio this morning and stressing that we will not run out of water!
The pipeline will deliver almost all the water we use? I wonder if that would be true because they would have to pump day and night and the electricity would be through the roof with their new costing.
Why don't they use the GAB bore water as it is much cheaper and they have already drilled these bores just waiting to hook up the electricity to pump the water?
It only makes sense if you realize that by hooking up to the Wivenhoe pipeline the Government can seize the water assets at any time they like.

9:59 AM, September 24, 2009

 
Blogger Concerned Ratepayer said...

Looks like Antonio got caught out with his comments in the Sunday Mail.

10:03 AM, September 24, 2009

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

One story for Brisbane and one story for the locals.

4:18 PM, September 24, 2009

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cr Antonio stressed there was “absolutely no cause for alarm” as the Wivenhoe Dam pipeline neared Cressbrook Dam.

“There is absolutely no way we can run out of water,” he said.(Chronicle)

OK Mr Antonio - does this mean that once the pipeline is finished, all water restrictions will be removed? Since you lot have doubled the price of water, I am sure you would like as much revenue as possible.

Or are you full of it?

6:39 PM, September 24, 2009

 

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