Our money down drain
INTERESTING read in the TB ( July 22) in which it states the council will pressure residents to conserve water. Apparently we have a usage rate 200 per cent higher than comparable Queensland cities.
This is a prudent exercise as we are seeing extended dry periods and non- existent wet seasons.
Ross River Dam is sitting at 42 per cent and the Burdekin Dam is at 69 per cent.
Sunwater has recently cut allocations to cane farmers in the Burdekin region by nearly 50 per cent and the dam continues to drop. By the time it is decided to pump from the Burdekin its levels may also be at breaking point.
We need to be proactive on water infrastructure, not reactive.
Research into the lifting of the Ross River Dam walls should be a priority, if it hasn’t happened already, so we have the organic capacity to supply ourselves and not impose the ridiculous pumping costs of $ 25,000 per day that have been bandied around.
Our waste and water committee chairman Ray Gartrell has stated that a second pipeline from the Burdekin is to be installed.
Does this mean we will be look- ing at $ 50,000 per day in pumping costs? I have one easy fix for you Ray, get together with Pat Ernst who is the sport, recreation and parks committee chairman and sort out the sprinklers in the parks and median strips around our city.
In my early- morning travels around Townsville it amazes me how much water the council wastes on watering the roads.
I have on one trip counted at least eight defective sprinklers flowing directly into the stormwater system. I may as well stand at these drains and pour buckets of ratepayer money into them.
I am happy to be corrected, but isn’t this wastage water that ratepayers pay the council to manage? I understand the thought behind asking ratepayers to ease up on usage but effectively it is our water we are wasting and we will pay for it. What I don’t like is the council wasting water that I have paid for.
Please spend some time getting this wastage in the council watering infrastructure under control. Then I am sure we will be happy to hear what it is you have to say.