Anna Bligh destroys thousands of bottles of her 'NEWater' recycled water ...

Excerpt from Sunday Mail:

22 August 2010

Tens of thousands of bottles of purified recycled water from Queensland's mothballed recycled water pipeline have been secretly destroyed by the Bligh Government.

The Sunday Mail can reveal the State Government had planned a taxpayer-funded publicity campaign centred on handing out thousands of bottles of water from the largely idle $1.5 billion Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, in a last-ditch bid to convince Queenslanders that treated effluent was safe to drink.

But the bottles of water - at least 40,000 - were never distributed. Instead they were stored in a warehouse before being secretly destroyed in May at a waste facility in Ipswich, west of Brisbane.
...

See - Sunday Mail - Bligh Government bungle over bottled recycled water.

Anna Bligh wasting $40,000 in recycled water every day ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

14 August 2010

Almost $40,000 worth of water a day is being flushed by the State Government as it refuses to use its flagship recycling pipeline to supply households.

The Courier-Mail can reveal 33 million litres of water a day are being passed through the high-priced purification process and then ditched in the Brisbane River.

The 33ML would be valued at nearly $15 million a year if sold to council-run retailers at the current wholesale price, rising to in excess of $73 million based on the rate at which it is sold on to households.
...

See - Courier Mail - Queensland wasting $40,000 in recycled water every day.

Qld Natural Resources Minister tells lungfish to please swim away from recycled water ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

12 August 2010

In a bizarre response to revelations the vulnerable species has emerged in Brisbane's main water supply, Mr Robertson insisted the lungfish could push off elsewhere if they didn't like recycled water.

But Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett yesterday revealed the Commonwealth would now have to consider the impacts on the lungfish and warned the recycled water pipeline could be the one threatened if it adversely affect the species.

See - Courier Mail - Stephen Robertson says lungfish at Wivenhoe Dam can just shove off.

Toowoomba Regional Council restarts city fountains ...

... Toowoomba's water woes must be over ...

See - The Chronicle - Fountains to flow again.

Lungfish in Wivenhoe Dam set to destroy Anna Bligh's potable reuse dream ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

11 August 2010

The secret discovery of lungfish in the Wivenhoe Dam has cast grave doubt over the Bligh Government's ability to ever switch on the $2 billion recycled water pipeline without harming the vulnerable species.

The Courier-Mail has learnt that lungfish eggs and fingerlings were discovered in the dam in September last year just a short distance from the recycled water outlet.

Authorities have since been scrambling to work out what impact changes in water temperature and phosphate levels from recycled water would have on the lungfish population.

Any impact on the lungfish could reduce the pipeline to a multibillion-dollar infrastructure white elephant.
...

The Government yesterday insisted it has not considered moving the recycled water outlet and there was no evidence the lungfish would be affected if it were used.

However, internal briefing notes obtained by The Courier-Mail show authorities were clueless about the impact and would have to research it throughout this year.
...

However, the internal briefing paper from May prepared for Natural Resources Minister Stephen Robertson shows Seqwater was concerned about the lungfish discovery at Logan's Inlet.

"The location of the 2009 eggs was within 100-150 metres of the discharge pipe for purified recycled water,'' the paper said. "Work will need to be undertaken to determine any future impact.''
...

See - Courier Mail - Lungfish set to destroy Anna Bligh's potable reuse dream.

Qld Water Commission's SEQ water strategy ...

The Queensland Government has announced that up to 32 000 megalitres per year of additional water supplies will be made available for rural production from the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, outside times of severe drought.

July 2010 - read it here - QWC Water Strategy.