Coast water use well over SEQ target
12:00a.m. 14th October 2008
Sunshine Coast residents will have to slash their water use when restrictions are introduced here in March.
Daily individual consumption here has averaged 208 litres during the past five months, well over the bottom of the range 140 litres per person per day target of the Queensland Water Commission for the south-east.
Daily consumption across south-east Queensland last week jumped from 136 litres the previous week to 144 litres, the first time in more than 12 months it has topped the 140 litre target.
Gold Coast mayor Ron Clarke, where the average use per person last week was 198 litres a day, has said the city’s residents should ignore water restrictions.
And Sunshine Coast councillor Paul Tatton has said Brisbane should deal with its own problems.
“Bugger Brisbane is what I say and will continue to say,’’ Mr Tatton said.
“The Sunshine Coast has over many many years ensured that the region has adequate water supply for the future. If Brisbane has not done such planning then it is to their own peril.
“I know that this northern pipeline interconnector will be a one-way pipeline all downhill,’’ Mr Tatton said.
“I would want a cast iron guarantee and evidence that the pumping stations are in place to ensure that the pipeline is two-way before I will ever agree to this happening. I know that it is a foregone conclusion but that does not stop anyone from voicing their opinion and that is what I believe that Sunshine Coast residents need to do … voice your opinion to all in state parliament that this is not on.’’
QWC has set a regional target for the Gold Coast of 170 litres a day, 15 litres a day below the 187 litres the city was using before last week’s spike.
Mr Clarke has argued there is plenty of water in Gold Coast dams and that the city has halved its water usage during the past eight years despite servicing an additional 100,000 people.
Sunshine Coast mayor Bob Abbot rejected any suggestion that this region ignore restrictions when they are introduced here.
Mr Abbot said he would push to get an agreement that water would be pumped north to the Sunshine Coast if our supplies ever fell to critical levels.
He would be discussing with senior staff this week what position council would take on the water restriction levels suggested by Queensland Water Commission.
“We have to work out how we deal with the half of the Coast that won’t be on the grid until the Traveston Dam is built,’’ Mr Abbot said.
That situation applies to all properties north of the Maroochy River whose water comes from either the north Maroochy system out of Wappa Dam or Lake Macdonald at Cooroy.
Recent Comments
"Mr Abbot said he would push to get an agreement that water would be pumped north to the Sunshine Coast if our supplies ever fell to critical levels." Yeah, and I'll push Bin Laden to come to Church on Sunday! Dream on Jeanie, Dream on! Whats the point? if Brisbane steals OUR water and uses it, and then finds its dried up Our supply as well , there'll be no water to pump north!!.. Get a Grip bob!! Get a Grip!
'He would be discussing with senior staff this week what position council would take on the water restriction levels suggested by Queensland Water Commission.'... No, that should read .." He will be Told by senior staff what the position will be on water restrictions.".
I'm with Paul Tatton, Bugger Brisbane === and bugger the State Government, Theiving grubs they are.
Ed: Rationing needs to be done to achieve whichever target is set by the QWC starts here on March 30 next year.
Here's a few:
Our water for Public service jobs
Our water for CAMCOSS
Our water for upgrading our roads ...
From an insider word, please don't believe Brisbane is an innocent victim of the drought. The question is when did Brisbane produce it's drought (and growth management) strategy compared to many other regions in Queensland?
Why is the pipe only going one way at present? It should absolutely be a two-way pipe because I guarantee you that if we get in to water trouble, because of the Brisbane area siphoning our water, then we will get a 'Buggar the Sunshine Coast' from them.
Once again, no planning and forethought over water strategy from the powers that be except to ensure they have plenty of water.
I have this troubling feeling that we on the coast are victims of theft.
Buggar Brisbane, build some desalination plants to service YOUR needs.
We have invested, planned and managed our water resources.
we haven't got good public transport or rail or a down town area at all - but we do have water.
Councils with foresight don't seem to be the good thing.
How about the paper name and shame the Brisbane mayors and councillors who didn't provide the water for their city??
Stay fighting Bob. it was a dumb decision then and it still is now.
There should be no development without the required infrastructure to suport the development and the infrastructure should be built and paid for by the developers.This should include roads.public transport hospitals and all the other suport services currently paid for by taxpayers who,in most cases did not want the developments in the first place.
An effective levy on all development lots of around $40,000 should would pay for a good deal of infracture without increasing the cost of the average mortgage a great deal
The developers on reading this will of course take refuge behind their most recent mantra of "affordable housing"but I don't see any of them doing anything about affordable housing!
I will look at my water usage and see how better I can conserve it given our sub-tropical climate, soils and the vegetation needs for water. However, my water footprint is not very large anyway.
I understand the old Maroochy Shire area does not use that much water. Our dry period lasts from around July- Sept so we usually get rain fairly often.
Perhaps the Daily should report on our current water usage without the restrictions. The more important question is how much water is planned to be drawn down versus current consumption, inflows into the Baroon Pocket Dam, population growth demands and environmental flows. In other words lets have mass balance of inputs and outputs based on different assumptions!
Lawns are by far the biggest household water waster.
It is much better to plant just about anything other than grass. even fruit and vegies are a sure fire way of cutting your water bill. We are down to about 10 square metres of lawn under the hills hoist (unlike Kawana island residents we have enough room for a hoist)
the rest of our place is fruit trees and vines, vegies and flowers. We have watered the fruit trees with a set hose only once this year and won't need to until April or May next year. we do hand water the vegetable seedlings and these are normally in pots over the drip line of the fruit trees - so that any wasted by overwatering is taken up by the frut trees. water wastage is minimal.
This tells you what we have http://opinonated-bastard.blogspot.com/2...
And this tells you how to do it http://opinonated-bastard.blogspot.com/2...
The opposite of 'taxing lawns' though is more the truth. The state govnt strategy is to tax the size of rainwater tanks and the impervious land. The impervious land will be rated whereby grass is different to garden beds because they absord rain at different rates.
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