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.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Turning stormwater into drinking water ...

CSIRO scientists have bottled ‘Recharge’ , pure drinking water that was once stormwater.

“This is an exciting demonstration of the value of stormwater and the drinking water that can be produced from it by using a combination of natural treatment processes and engineered methods,” CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Urban Water Stream Leader Dr Peter Dillon said.

See - CSIRO - Turning stormwater into drinking water.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Water prices punish Toowoomba ...

Letter to the Editor, The Chronicle

Water prices punish Toowoomba

8 February 2010

Yet again Kerry Shine (TC, 1/02) beats up the voters of Toowoomba who wisely said they did not want to be the 'living laboratory' for a sewage water source still not adopted by any community anywhere in the world, not even Brisbane.

Kerry Shine's State Government has spent $2 billion on the Bundamba recycled water plant but has vowed not to put the water into Wivenhoe Dam until dam levels are below 40 per cent. Why? Is it because recycled water is inferior, dangerous or just a politically unacceptable source of drinking water? He has wasted $2 billion and lectures us about money!

Kerry forgets the new Wivenhoe pipeline was originally costed at $115 million at the time the recycled water plant, capable of supplying only half the amount of water, was costed at $90 million.

The cost of water rates in Toowoomba are inflated beyond reality to set a precedence for expensive water in south-east Queensland to make the sale of the SEQ water grid to foreign corporations (privatisation) more profitable.

If Kerry Shine wants to truly represent the people of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs then he should urge the Premier and treasurer to refer Toowoomba Regional Council's monopolistic water pricing to the Queensland Competition Authority for price monitoring under s23A.

It seems strange that his Government has chosen to refer 10 SEQ Council's to the QCA for analysis and ignored the Toowoomba Region which is by far the most expensive.

Don't throw stones at the citizens Kerry, just do your job in representing their wishes.

SM
Toowoomba

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Wivenhoe - Toowoomba pipeline pumping beyond expectations ...

The Chronicle:

Downpour flows into dams

16 February 2010

Almost five days supply flowed into Toowoomba’s dams thanks to last night’s heavy downpour.

Deputy Mayor and water services portfolio leader Paul Antonio said about 120 megalitres was delivered to Toowoomba’s dams overnight.

The wet weather comes on the back of news that the Wivenhoe pipeline is performing better than its designers anticipated.

Since it was opened, up to 30 megalitres has been delivered to Cressbrook Dam every day, enough to meet demand and offset evaporation.

Acting water services director Alan Kleinschmidt said there had been a noticeable increase in levels at Cressbrook, which at 9am this morning was at nine per cent capacity.

See - Downpour flows into dams.

Treated waste still hard to swallow ...

ABC News:

Treated waste still hard to swallow

1 February 2010

Scientists are questioning the long-term effects of desalination plants, even though they are seen as a 'quick fix' for water shortages in many areas of Australia.

They argue there are financial and environmental costs and one prominent water supply expert says the future lies in Australians putting their fears aside and embracing use of treated sewage.

A desalination plant has just started operating in Sydney and another will be finished soon at Port Stanvac in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

Professor Mike Young, of Adelaide University, questions the benefits.

"It's expensive. It's climate independent but it has some environmental problems and it uses (sic) a lot of greenhouse gases," he said.

What desalination plants put back into the environment is also an issue.

At Point Lowly in South Australia's Spencer Gulf, there is fierce opposition to the effect a proposed BHP-Billiton desalination plant may have on one of Australia's largest giant cuttlefish breeding grounds.

The cost of desalination is also an issue, with household water bills already rising sharply to pay for construction and running of desalination plants.

Alternatives to desalination include stormwater harvesting.

At wetlands in northern Adelaide, about 12 gigalitres of stormwater per year are being stored in underground aquifers for future use.

There are studies under way to see if the stormwater could provide a regular drinking supply.

Common phobia

Professor Young says there could be an even cheaper and more effective option if people overcome over a common phobia of drinking their own treated waste.

"Sewage water is so cheap to process because it has a lot less salt in it and in terms of the energy that's required to take the salt and manure and everything else out of the water is much less," he said.

He says Australians are already unknowingly drinking treated waste from other animals.

"The fish are manuring in the water that's often treated, you have cows walking around in many areas up above the dams putting, letting all their manure run down into the dams," he said.

"We've been treating and removing sewage from our water supplies for at least a century and we'll go on doing that."

Queenslanders have already turned up their noses at the idea of a treated sewage plant at Toowoomba.

But Professor Young says ongoing drought concerns across much of Australia, coupled with population increases, mean treated waste is an idea Australians may eventually have to swallow.

See - Treated waste still hard to swallow.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Brisbane dam levels at 73.2% ...

... as at 17 February 2010.

See - SEQwater - Brisbane dam levels.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Open warfare - Toowoomba Regional Council splits along integrity lines ...

3 February 2010

Toowoomba's regional councillors have joined forces to isolate maverick councillor Bill Cahill over last week’s pay rise furore.


Cr Cahill said he had not been spoken to by Mayor Peter Taylor or his fellow councillors since his decision to oppose the three per cent pay rise.

The Chronicle has been inundated with letters and text messages in support of Cr Cahill’s stand and critical of the council’s attempt to conceal the increase.

Cr Cahill said he was concerned the split and subsequent “silent treatment” could impact on the council’s ability to function.
...

See - The Chronicle - Cahill frozen out.

Purple pipe debate reignited in Toowoomba ...

3 February 2010

Toowoomba's “purple pipe” recycled water system looks set to be revived from the scrapheap after it was abandoned last year.

Cr Bill Cahill, environment and services portfolio leader, said Toowoomba could not rely on the Wivenhoe Dam pipeline for its long-term water needs.

He admitted he made a mistake voting to scrap the purple pipes and wanted to reignite the debate when council met next week.

“The population growth we’re expecting will demand we don’t rest on our laurels,” he said.

Cr Cahill said the Wivenhoe pipeline gave the region the breathing space needed to solve the health concerns and monitoring costs that led to the scrapping of the purple pipes.

He said the recycled water should be connected to all greenfield developments and the region’s sporting fields, parks and gardens.
...

See - The Chronicle - Councillor revives pipe debate.