Pollys in it for themselves.

[PinHead]

After seeing what happens to the power grid when no maintenance is done...what will happen if this goes ahead and no maintenance is done...filtration plants fail..turn on the tap and you get raw sewage..not for me thanks..build the dams.

[choppa]

i am all for ways to conserve water , and do my bit by showering with the missus every night ,

well,,,, if it means that the choppa has to help out and save a few drops,,, put my name down mate,,,,

(as long as the missus insideout doesn't mind too much )

[Bundy_Burp]

I dont think recycling waste water will ever catch on towoomba is having all sorts of problems trying to convince people its a good idea and I dont think the government is winning any votes . I personally think desalination is they way to go even though the cost is higher I think its a better solution . Also a few extra pipelines into areas which do have an excess of water wouldnt hurt either . Typical of most governments though I am sure they will try and go as cheap as possible but no surprise is it now .

Bundy

[PinHead]

Bundy...desalinaton and a pipeline are both reasonable ideas...but the costs for both are astronomical..plus...with all this hoo haa about greenhouse gases then the power required for both is also astronomical. Build a nuclear power station next to a desal. plant and all is solved.

The best solution...hope like hell there is lots of rain soon in the catchment areas.

[tshort]

RO and then infra red? treatment as well.

[tshort]

Sorry that should be ultra-violet, must be the aluminium from the vans giving me oldcrafts disease.

[hicksy]

Recently I went to the Caboolture water treatment plant. Here they produce 9 million litres of water a day from sewerage. This is then pumped into the river down stream of where the drinking water is collected. What a waste.

The total shire usage at the time of my visit was 20 million litres a day.

Recyclyed water makes sense.

I understand peoples concerns. It is a mind over matter thing.

Like some others have suggested, what would be wrong with a single line going into every single house to water lawns, plants etc. Wash cars, boats etc.

Local councils could make developers do this when new estates are built and state governments could retro fit existing water systems.

Cleaner for the bay & better for fishing.

Congratulations Peter Beattie and Labor lets hope it happens.

Hicksy

[tshort]

Hicksy, just had a read up on the Caboolture river, this sewerage outlet sounds like it must be upstream from the weir, is it ?

[hicksy]

Elprez,
When I visited the plant they told me it had to be pumped back into the river below the weir. That way it had no chance of mixing with drinking water they take from the river.

Hicksy

[tiny_tinny]

Throughout Australia (and the rest of the world), wherever a town or city takes its water from a dam or river, they most likely are using treated waste water (i.e. sewage) from towns or cities upstream of them. In addition, the water in the dam or river contains runoff from farms with cattle, sheep or other animals, and their poo is flushed into the waterways without being treated.

As other posters have said, it happens all over the world. The quality of Australia's drinking water is world standard. The unfortunate outcome of using treated waste water is that the number of nongs who drink bottled water for "health" reasons will increase.

Mike

[tshort]

Thanks hicksy, that was a good report. I used to live in a Western Queensland town and as you know towns are build where possible on the reliable water holes in river systems that dont run often. Here they usually build saleyards, sewerage treatment plants, batching plants, Livestock tranport wash down areas etc. etc. etc. as well as being the only spot for any water recreation for 1000 K's . The water is constantly murky and when it runs even worse from the overgrazing practices and uncontrolled water points of the sheep and cattle industry along their entire length. Its then treated and pumped into town as it has been done for god knows how long. They always used to reckon western people were slow, but I dont think it was due to the water. Ive heard another story that theyre scared of the effect on males with some female hormones that are said not able to be extracted in the treatment process, but I wouldnt call the blokes are there girls either, not to their face anyway.

[castlemaine]

this is why a mate of mine doesn't drink anything that doesn't come out of bottles. XXXX is his main drink. Cheers, hic!

[PinHead]

hicksy...who would pay to duplicate the entire water system in the state?
There is one problem with all this debate over the water...all the ideas that are not financially possible or are not feasible..eg Burdekin to Wivenhoe pipe..recycled pipe into every home..cannot be done within any form of financial constraint.

The only answer other than new dams is rain..and lots of it.

[hicksy]

Pinhead,
If you don't start somewhere you don't start at all.
Like I said the local councils could enforce this on developers who plan new estates and state governments could assist councils financially to retrofit the current system. It might take twenty years to do the lot but sure beats waiting for rain.
Whilst I see the vote was noin toowoomba I really think most Queenslanders wouldlove the opportunity to water their yards, wash their cars and clean their boats without having to worry about the water police.

Regards
Hicksy

[tshort]

I'm pretty sure the leader of the No vote was a bloke that owned heaps of land that he developed for housing in Toowoomba. Wants the developoment but not the responsibilities.