Action must flow on water

I WAS absolutely dismayed to read in Thursday’s edition of the Townsville Bulletin of the latest round of talkfests about this city’s critical water shortage.

Surely we have long passed the point of needing to keep talking about a problem that has been around for decades due to inaction by successive governments.

This city is only days away from starting to pump from the Burdekin Falls Dam at a cost of somewhere in the region of $ 27,000 per day. To think that the largest city in Northern Australia is in this predicament is beyond belief.

How many more failed wet seasons will it take for action to address this issue. If this was the south- east corner of the State the required infrastructure would already be well on the way to being built.

You only have to look at the recent example of quick action by a previous State Government that rushed to build the Tugun desalination plant at a cost of $ 1.2 billion when the levels in Brisbane’s dams were dropping. This plant has never been used.

The problem of Townsville’s critical water shortage is well known as are the three or four possible solutions.

The city is located less than 100km from a major water source but the infrastructure does not exist to enable us to access this resource at the levels now required by this city due to its growth.

How can this city expect to continue to attract people to live here and industry to set up here when a reliable water supply does not exist. Where is the water coming from to support the recently announced residential development at Elliot Springs? Funds can be found to build a new stadium at a cost of $ 250 million but you won’t be able to flush the toilets in the new complex due to a lack of sufficient water.

The Federal Government has recently announced the establishment of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund ( NAIF) with a budget of $ 5 billion to provide infrastructure funding to boost the development of Northern Australia.

Surely an infrastructure project to address the critical water shortage of this city would satisfy the funding guidelines. If not – why not?

It is about time the elected representatives of the three levels of government showed leadership and worked together, and started to do the job that ratepayers and taxpayers have elected and funded them to do.

I for one can find better use of my time than holding a hose in my hand for four hours a week to try to keep my yard and garden green.

I look forward to receiving a refund for the unused allocation of my annual water allowance that I have already paid for through my rates and cannot use due to the current water restrictions.

At a time when Townsville is browning, the last thing we need is another series of talkfests, inquiries, feasibility studies and reports to come up with a solution. That work has been done many times over. It is now time for action.

I wrote this letter out of sheer frustration and I am sure that it reflects the sentiments of the majority of residents and ratepayers in Townsville. GRAHAM ASPINALL,

Kirwan.