QLD: Action on the water front
By Peter Beattie, Queensland Premier
Recycled water is just one of a range of measures the Queensland government is undertaking in response to the water crisis.
Date: 30 January 2007
THE Queensland Government is introducing purified recycled water into southeast Queensland's water supply because we have no choice.
The deterioration in our water outlook, the drop in dam water levels and continued below average rainfall means using purified recycled water is no longer an option. It is inevitable. Our climate has changed. We are in the grip of the worst drought on record and we cannot assume that the drought will break soon.
I know that adding purified recycled water to replenish water levels in the Wivenhoe-Somerset Dam system, the main source of water supply for the region, is a contentious decision. While polling by the state government and independent organisations has repeatedly shown overwhelming support for using purified recycled water in southeast Queensland, there are still many people who oppose the decision.
It was my intention to give people a vote at a plebiscite on this issue on March 17, but I also made it clear that whatever the result of the plebiscite, we would still use purified recycled water in an emergency situation. The emergency is coming. The facts tell the story. The inflow of water into the combined Wivenhoe-Somerset Dam system is approaching a new record low.
The Queensland Government had based its water planning on a worst-case scenario event: that is, southeast Queensland receiving the same level of inflows into the Wivenhoe-Somerset Dam system as it did in the worst year on record which was 2004-05.
Many fronts
Dam inflows to date for 2006-07 are about 20 per cent lower than the worst year on record. Worryingly, the month of December, which has in past years produced good rainfall and dam inflows, saw inflows that were 80 per cent less than those recorded for the same month in 2004. While southeast Queensland has received some rain in recent years, it has either not fallen in the dam catchment or not been of the required intensity or duration to generate the necessary run-off.
As Premier, I cannot bury my head in a dry riverbed and hope the whole issue will go away. Circumstances have changed, our climate has changed and my Government has responded to those new circumstances with a plan to meet southeast Queensland's medium and long-term water needs.
There is no simple, quick-fix solution. The worsening water situation has required action on many fronts. We are investing about $7 billion in water infrastructure for southeast Queensland, building a desalination plant at the Gold Coast, building the Traveston and Wyaralong dams and constructing a water grid to shift water around southeast Queensland as required.
We are also looking at ways to reduce demand by helping people catch and save water for their own use. This initiative includes our popular rebates program for water tanks and a home water-wise plumbing scheme where plumbers visit homes to help make households more water efficient.
The infrastructure plan also includes the $1.7 billion earmarked for the Western Corridor Recycled Water Pipeline that will deliver purified recycled water to the Swanbank and Tarong power stations, other industrial users and the Wivenhoe Dam.
The western corridor pipeline is a project of national significance. It is Australia's largest water-recycling project, the third largest advanced treatment recycled water project in the world and the fourth largest recycled water scheme in the world. This project is enormous. We will be constructing three major advanced wastewater treatment plants and laying more than 200km of pipe.
National significance
Queensland is providing national leadership on the water issue. We are doing the heavy lifting by consulting the community, being honest and upfront with the facts and enlisting their understanding and support. In our most recent research, respondents were asked:
Do you support the use of purified recycled water for drinking that meets all health and safety requirements?
Around 78 per cent said they would vote yes if the plebiscite had been held that day. It shows a lot of common sense and maturity by people who have considered the issue and individually and collectively reached a decision.
I am delighted that the Prime Minister has also publicly supported our initiative. He clearly recognises that as the driest continent on earth, Australia must inevitably look to recycled water to supplement our other water sources.
I have written to the Prime Minister formally seeking a $408 million commonwealth contribution towards the $1.7 billion cost of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Pipeline. This is a groundbreaking initiative and I hope John Howard will back his rhetoric with action and agree to meet a fair share of the cost.
We will be introducing purified, safe, recycled water into southeast Queensland's water system by the end of 2008. It is the only responsible decision my Government could make.
