ADF would further muddy the waters

THE ADF is progressing with the development of a military training facility in Greenvale region, despite having been warned that soil structures in the area are some of the most fragile in the Burdekin River catchment.

Further, it is well accepted by leading rangeland managers that military training development is the worst possible aggressive use of the rangeland.

Tracked and multi-axled vehicles tear the fragile top soils apart making erosion unavoidable, especially during extreme weather events.

Such heavy erosion will probably intensify the turbidity of all run-off water.

At present it will flow directly to the Burdekin Falls Dam, where turbidity levels are already at unacceptable levels. The major contribution coming from the Baleyando/suttor Rivers, hosts to proposed Adani mine and associated rail infrastructure.

Government department monitoring put it at an average of 170 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTUS); the highest acceptable level for human consumption must be no more than 5 NTUS.

How can Townsville City Council, TEL etc be cheering on this destruction when they may spend up to $500 million building the pipeline to transfer such water into the city water supply, in Ross River dam. The current water treatment plants are incapable of delivering acceptable NTU level water.

This all comes at a high price, from the serious cost of chemicals and low yields of water suitable to progress to a traditional treatment plant.

JOHN KERSH, Giru.