Townsville and Thuringowa ratepayers would enjoy reduced water costs for generations as a result of initiatives in a restructure proposal that has been accepted by the councils, said NQ Water Chairman Ian Hamilton.

NQ Water is offering Townsville City Council $26,136,000 and Thuringowa City Council $5,060,000 in Water Recycling and Conservation Grants.

It was part of the move by the Board to secure as many benefits for the community as possible in its efforts to comply with a new regulatory framework.
The offer comes with the proviso that the grants be fully spent on water conservation and recycling initiatives by 2008.

Eligible projects may include sewerage effluent re-use, water conservation irrigation schemes, storm water harvesting, community awareness and publicity and improvements to sewerage treatment plant infrastructure.

The grants would show a return to the community many times their value said Mr Hamilton.

"The prospect of harvesting and reclaiming water offers major benefits to the community," Mr Hamilton said. "It is more of an investment than a subsidy,"

"We have to plan for at least another 50,000 domestic users as well as new industry including Sun Metals Stage 2, the Yabulu refinery restructure and a base load power station sometime in the next 20 years, if not a lot sooner."

"The conservation measures and the provision of reclaimed water defer tens of millions of dollars investment in major capital expenditure that would otherwise be needed to meet this demand.

"It also reduces the need to draw our allocation in the Burdekin Dam which could run into millions of dollars a year."

The recycling and conservation initiatives have been on the drawing board for some time, said Mr Hamilton. The initiatives are also aligned with principals outlined in the Queensland Water Recycling Strategy, he said.

WATER CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING FACTS

• Ross River Dam supplies Townsville and Thuringowa Cities on a reducing basis. Plans are being made for supplies from the dam to be supplemented more often in the future.
• The last time the twin cities’ water allocation in the Burdekin Dam was drawn on was 1994. NQ Water paid Sunwater $4 million in water charges that year.
• Consumption in Townsville and Thuringowa at peak times has reached 240 ML/day. It is estimated two-thirds of that was used on gardens and lawns.
• The use of a 13-kilolitre water tank results in a 49-56% reduction in urban stormwater runoff and a 41-49% reduction in demand for town water.*
• Rainwater tanks can also save around ten-20% of the cost of providing headworks (dams and weirs) in some instances.*
• Water harvesting, (rainwater tanks from buildings including homes, offices and commercial premises, dams in urban areas, lakes or artificial wetlands), can supply five to ten per cent of town water needs if used for irrigation of public sparks and gardens and golf courses.*
  

*Queensland Water Recycling Strategy, Oct 2001, Environmental Protection Agency Pages 27-29