Hervey Bay Gossip

All Queenslanders will be able to take advantage of the State Government’s Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme from tomorrow (November 2), Premier Peter Beattie announced today.

Since 1 July this year, the Government has offered rebates on rainwater tanks, water-efficient clothes washing machines, showerheads, dual-flush toilets, greywater devices, pool covers and rollers to residents in 22 local council areas in the State’s south-east.

During the recent State election campaign the Premier committed to extending the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme statewide.

“The Government is committed to helping Queenslanders save water and save money,” Mr Beattie said.

“The Government recognises the drought has impacted on large parts of the State and we also recognise that people across the State need to be encouraged to save water.”

The Government has committed $20 Million over two years to the extension.

Rebates will be available on the purchase of rainwater tanks and other water-saving devices from 16 August - the date the election commitment was announced.

Residents with proof of purchase on that date or later will be eligible to apply for a rebate.

Mr Beattie said there had been a strong response from the public to the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme

“Within the first three months, the Government received more than 32,000 applications and they continue to pour in,” he said.

Residents are urged to contact the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme hotline on 1800 243 585. All Queenslanders will be able to take advantage of the State Government’s Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme from tomorrow (November 2), Premier Peter Beattie announced today.

Since 1 July this year, the Government has offered rebates on rainwater tanks, water-efficient clothes washing machines, showerheads, dual-flush toilets, greywater devices, pool covers and rollers to residents in 22 local council areas in the State’s south-east.

During the recent State election campaign the Premier committed to extending the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme statewide.

“The Government is committed to helping Queenslanders save water and save money,” Mr Beattie said.

“The Government recognises the drought has impacted on large parts of the State and we also recognise that people across the State need to be encouraged to save water.”

The Government has committed $20 Million over two years to the extension.

Rebates will be available on the purchase of rainwater tanks and other water-saving devices from 16 August - the date the election commitment was announced.

Residents with proof of purchase on that date or later will be eligible to apply for a rebate.

Mr Beattie said there had been a strong response from the public to the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme

“Within the first three months, the Government received more than 32,000 applications and they continue to pour in,” he said.

Residents are urged to contact the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme hotline on 1800 243 585.

And if you don’t want to install a tank or water saving equipment then you might like to join the Premier as he prays for rain because it seems that all of the projects to supply water to the south east if the drought reaches the critical stage are running way behind schedule.

We’re Only on Level 1

While much of south east Queensland has now moved to Level 4 water restrictions the Wide Bay Water Corporation website advises that Hervey Bay is only on Level 1 water restrictions.

Under Level 1 sprinklers and soaker hoses are not permitted between 10am and 2pm.

… until you’ve checked if for an envelope that declares that it contains some important information about water.

Yes folks, the Queensland Government is writing to you to give you important information about the Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme and you really should read it.

Am I the only one who finds it strange that important information should be delivered with the junk mail?

Am I the only one who finds it strange that important information is delivered in an envelope that is addressed in a way that junk mail is usually addressed and uses a font one associates with rubbish?

Still, it is important and you really should read it because it encourages you to start being responsible for your own water needs.

While Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Gympie and the residents of the Mary Valley face the threat of a dam being built on the Mary River Toowoomba faces a water crises that no dams will fix.

For the people in Toowoomba the question is whether or not to use recycled water and the debate is getting very heated. Here is one youg Toowoomba residen’t view of the debate.

The town of Toowoomba lies in South East Queensland, and is currently effected by a devastating drought. This drought has emptied the dams that supply water to the city, and has split the local population in two. This is due to the local governments plan to introduce a water recycling plant, but some people fear that their health may be effected.

The Toowoomba City Council, led by Mayor Di Thorley, plans to introduce a plant which uses reverse osmosis to clean waste water. This process creates water which has a six star rating for quality (five star is drinking quality). Yet, even with overwhelming support from the state government, scientific experts, and overseas precedents, some citizens refuse to accept this new age method.

They have organized themselves into a group known as CADS, or Citizens Against Drinking Sewage. They consistently ignore all professional advice and continue to threaten Toowoomba’s only viable option to preserve its water supply.

The sole purpose of CADS is to criticise all the suggestions that the council puts forward. Rather than try to come up with possible solutions of their own, they seem to be content with making all other plans fail. With this sort of attitude, there is no way that any water saving methods will be put into practice.

Toowoomba cannot continue to wait for the rain to refill the lifesaving dams. To much water is being lost in the city itself, and there seems to be only one practical method to combat the drought.

Reverse Osmosis is used in several cities throughout the world with no health problems resulting from it. No matter what evidence is put forward to support this view, the citizens of CADS dismiss all scientific facts.

It seems that they even make up their own facts to further disrupt the council’s plans. Hormones getting into the drinking water supply, sewage leaking through the process, and all manner of viruses are being invented by this disorderly organization.

Besides, if people are really that worried about what they are drinking, perhaps they should take a look at the dams themselves. They are not the cleanest pools of water, but they serve their purpose, and the processes that clean them are sufficient.

Water is the life blood of a rural town, and Toowoomba is the hub of a series of farmlands. Without water the entire town will slowly die. There will be no water for washing, construction, landscaping and even drinking. Barriers must be put in place so that the future of Toowoomba is confirmed.

Until the citizens of the town of Toowoomba are united, there can be no solution to the water problem. The battle between CADS and the rest of the population continues. A practical application that will reduce the amount of water wasted must be implemented, and yet, it cannot until a firm decision has been made.

The future of Toowoomba is not yet certain. There will come a time when the town agrees on a single, viable option, but until that time comes, uncertainty will continue over the water problems.

Russ Egan

Level 3 water restrictions were introduced today in the Beaudesert, Brisbane, Caboolture, Esk, Gatton, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Kilcoy, Laidley, Logan, PineRivers and Redcliffe council areas.

The decision to move to such severe restrictions was taken after the combined storage levels of Wivenhoe, North Pine and Somerset dams reached 30%.

The penalties for breaching these restrictions are $150 for individuals and $750 for corporations for the first offence. For a second offence within two years of the first breach, fines are $225 for individuals and $1125 for corporations.

For a third offence or subsequent offences, within two years of the first offence or within six months of the most recent breach, the fines are $300 for individuals and $1500 for corporations.

There has also been some suggestion that offenders will have their water supply cut off.

This is serious business and we here in Hervey Bay should be thankful that the water reserves in our dam is at a much more healthy level.

While Brisbane and surrounding areas in the south east as well as Toowoomba have dam levels that can only be described as critical the dam that supplies Hervey Bay is described as being close to capacity.

Bundaberg, Mackay and Gladstone are not so lucky with water levels continuing to fall.

A recent audit of water stocks in Queensland has revealed that two dams - Atkinson and Lake Clarendon - can only be described as empty while the level in Bjelke-Petersen dam is down to just 3%.

From Friday Arpil 14 water restrictions throughout Hervey Bay will be eased as the city moves from Level 2 to Level 1 restrictions.

Under Level 1 Water Restrictions residents are no allowed to use sprinklers or soaker hoses between 10am and 2pm.

Wide Bay Water Corporation says that since the Level 2 Restrictions were introduced residents in Hervey Bay have saved 445 meaga litres aof water and that is equivalent to 1.8 billion 250 ml glasses of water.

State Parliament has approved a plan to raise the wall of Lenthalls Dam - the source of water for Hervey Bay - to secure the city’s water supply for some years to come.

The plan still needs to be approved by the Federal Government but that is expected to be a formality. The Mayor of Hervey Bay expects construction will begin within a few months.

It’s hard to believe that, at a time when Innisfail is suffering from severe flooding and it’s even raining in south east Queensland, we arebe facing a severe water shortage and the prospect of ongoing regular droughts due to climate change. Yet that is exactly the grim picture for our future.

It comes as a nasty shock to a large proportion of the population who has never faced those problems before. Even in the worst droughts in the interior we, on the coast, have had plentiful supplies and have rarely had to deal with water restrictions.

But now we have to learn to conserve our water and use it wisely and that is having an unwelcome impact on some of the things we hold dear. We like attractive gardens and we want our lawns to be green and lush and to achieve that we use a lot of what is now a very finite resource to maintain those lawns and gardens.

We waste a lot of water on just making things look pretty and the day is coming when wasting water will no longer be an option. If we still want to have our lawns and gardens we’re going to have to learn to recycle something that we have never before even considered to be recyclable. We are going to have to learn how to treat and use grey water.

Grey water is already being used by some people in Australia for gardens and crops and Toowoomba is even looking at recycling grey water to the point where it will be fit for human consumption. But the majority of us have little understanding of what is involved in the use of grey water.

To introduce you to grey water The Hervey Bay Gossip offers you this overview of grey water in Australia by Russell Egan.

Well it seems that the rain that was forecast for Hervey Bay yesterday failed to eventuate and Level 2 water restrictions remain in force.

Further south Level 3 water restrictions are looming for Brisbane and other south east centres.

Your faithful scribe wonders if the lack of rain in Hervey Bay is the cause of the large number of tinnies that have suddenly appeared for sale?