Cold water on rail link
Could TRC support big population?
A TOOWOOMBA councillor says water security could become a major problem in the future, if a proposal for highspeed passenger rail produces faster population growth in the region.
Cr Mike Williams’ threw some cold water over the news that the Federal Government would spend $15 million on a business plan to develop highspeed passenger rail between Toowoomba and Brisbane.
The proposal has been likened to that of the connection between the Blue Mountains and Sydney by rail advocates.
But Cr Williams said the community needed to start asking how big it wanted Toowoomba to become, considering the potential influx of people moving to the region if a suitable line was built.
“We can’t keep growing forever, so the question should be what should we as a community look like? Is it 500,000, is it a million?” he told The Chronicle.
“Have we had that discussion and have we thought of that when it comes to potential growth?”
Cr Williams said the region’s current lakes and connection from Wivenhoe Dam to Toowoomba would satisfy the current rate of growth.
However, he said the council would find itself short on water if growth jumped above two per cent.
“Our most constricting resource is water and the ability to supply it,” he explained.
“We don’t have a secure connection other than Wivenhoe, which will maintain our current projection growth of about 1000 new houses a year.
“You would need a population somewhere between 500,000 and 800,000 people to sustain that rail service, (so) if we’re to grow to that size, we’re going to need a clear understanding on how we achieve that.
“I’m not pushing an outcome, I’m saying we need to have this discussion.”
Cr Williams’ concerns were backed by Cr Nancy Sommerfield, who tweeted: “Toowoomba to Brisbane passenger rail requires much larger population, (which equals) increased water demand”.