WATER SECURED FOR TOOWOOMBA

The Bligh Government will build a $187 million underground pipeline to pump water to drought ravaged Toowoomba from Wivenhoe Dam.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Mr Paul Lucas and Attorney General Kerry Shine today announced $167 million to build the 40 km pipeline, on top of the $20 million committed earlier this year to fast track preliminary designs and investigations.

“The situation in Toowoomba remains critical and this pipeline is desperately needed to provide water for the estimated 120,000 people who rely on the Cooby, Perseverance and Cressbrook Dams,” said Mr Lucas.

“This pipeline will be able to supply up to 14,200 million litres of water a year if needed, that’s over 50% more than Toowoomba’s current demand.

“Time is of the essence after yet another terrible wet season, with Toowoomba’s combined dam levels now below 11 per cent.

“A compressed construction timeline will see this pipeline built in December 2009, before being commissioned and fully operational by the end of January 2010.

“We all hope Toowoomba’s luck will change with some rain over the next year and a half to bring the Garden City back to life.

“If that doesn’t happen, Toowoomba Regional Council’s modelling shows without this pipeline the dams would run dry by March 2010.

“That’s why the $11 million dollars the State Government has provided to the Toowoomba Regional Council to sink bores into the Great Artesian Basin remains vitally important.

“These bores are being drilled to take the strain off Toowoomba’s dams while the pipeline is being built.

“Two bores are now showing promising results and another three are due to be finished by early next year.

“If they perform as hoped Toowoomba will have months and perhaps even a year or more worth of extra water, beyond March 2010.

“The State Government will work with the Toowoomba Regional Council to monitor the progress of these bores and on any other contingency measures that may be required.”

Mr Shine announced the pipeline from Wivenhoe will be bigger than originally planned, with the capacity to provide water to cope with Toowoomba’s population growth for the next 25 to 40 years.

“With extra pumps added, it will be able to supply Toowoomba with 18,000 million litres a year,” said Mr Shine.

“That’s enough to cater for a 50% increase in the Toowoomba population, even without the extreme water restrictions now in place.”

Construction of the pipeline will be managed by the State Government’s bulk water transport authority, LinkWater, which has engaged an alliance of companies (Clough, Diversified and Maunsell) to design and build the pipeline.

Mr Shine said LinkWater and its alliance were working closely with the Somerset and Toowoomba Regional Councils as well as consulting with directly-impacted landowners.

“Construction activity will start in the third quarter of this year, after obtaining the necessary environmental approvals and consulting with landowners,” said Mr Shine.

“The pipeline will be an economic boost for the Esk township and its 1200 residents, with about 90 construction workers expected to start arriving at a local work camp from October.”

Mr Lucas said investigations are also continuing into water produced as a by-product from coal seam gas operations in the Surat Basin.

“We are very interested in this water in the longer term and if there is one thing we have learnt in the last few years it is that water is liquid gold, we cannot waste any of it,” said Mr Lucas.

“However there are still issues to resolve in terms of cost, treatment and transport over long distances.

“We cannot afford to wait any longer to provide a secure water supply for Toowoomba but Queensland Gas Company may be able to put it to good use for drinking, agriculture and industry in other areas.”

Media Contact: Matthew Klar 0437 435 223