Securing our Water Future

A number of our town water supply schemes fall below the current expected health standards. This is different for each water supply but has broadly been caused by:

• Increased standards have changed what is expected from our existing water supplies
• Weather events increasing sediment in environmental water sources
• Aging water infrastructure needing renewal
• Water supply reliability (see seperate FAQ)

The Water Supply Strategy will provide direction on how we can go about securing high quality town water supply for the long term.

Water reliability is about ensuring that there is always available supply to provide for the demand.

In some areas of the Tablelands the reliability of water supply is under threat due to:

• Inconsistent or decreasing water available from environmental sources
• Increasing demand for water use

The Water Supply Strategy proposes changes to our infrastructure to provide water supplies that are secure and reliable in the long term.

Water conservation is a critical part of the Draft Water Supply Strategy and in ensuring the sustainability of our town water supplies for the future.

Given that household water consumption is comparatively high in the Tablelands compared to other regions, the Strategy has assessed a range of potential (but not all possible) water conservation measures.

Our Water Supply Strategy has rated our current town water supplies according to:

• Water Quality (in line with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines)
• Water Supply Reliability

A score for each is combined to provide an overall rating for each town water supply scheme.

For our existing town water supply schemes, being deficient against only one criteria (quality or reliability) can still result in a poor rating overall. For improving our town water supply schemes in the future both criteria must be met.

To prepare the Water Supply Strategy we were supported by professional water infrastructure consultants (GHD) to assess a range of options for each town water supply scheme.

This process started with all options on the table, and these were gradually reduced as some options could better meet the principles of the Strategy (see part 2.2).

The Water Supply Strategy Summary outlines the preferred options identified through this process.

If you have any specific questions please contact us.

We have recently completed upgrades to Herberton's town water supply with the support of funding from the Queensland Government.

These upgrades have secured water quality and reliability for the long term - so there was no need to further investigate this as part of the Water Supply Strategy.

The Water Supply Strategy Summary outlines the estimated costs of improving all of our town water supplies (some are grouped). See page 18 for more information.

We do not yet know what impact this will have on water rates charges. This depends upon funding support from State and Federal governments, as well as the speed and timing of improvement works.

You can help to reduce and delay the cost of infrastructure upgrades by saving water!

The Water Supply Strategy identifies the need for major works across a large number of town water supply schemes - and it won't all happen at once.

We will prioritise making improvements to water supply infrastructure to deal with the most critical problems with water quality and reliability first.

How long this takes depends on how much funding is available to make improvements. The Water Supply Strategy will help us to seek State and Federal funding to achieve this.

We will collect and review all feedback to understand where we can make improvements to the Water Supply Strategy and the way it is communicated.

Once this has occurred, a final version of the Water Supply Strategy will be presented to the Council for adoption.

The final Water Supply Strategy that is adopted by the Council will be used to plan for improvements to town water supply infrastructure. Each year we will be working to improve infrastructure with the funding that is available.

Please don't make a submission here about the quality of tap water at your home or business - please instead call us on 1300 362 242 or email info@trc.qld.gov.au and report issues noting the time and date when they occur. We will endeavour to diagnose issues and treat problems as soon as possible to ensure water is provided within the appropriate standards and guidelines.

Use the contact form on this page or send an email to communityengagement@trc.qld.gov.au

Please add your preferred contact details and your question or comment.

Council is aware that Sunwater has commenced investigations into options for the diversion of water from the North Johnston River to the Barron River catchment. They have to date not published the associated study report. Council will, once this report is released to the public, ensure that a copy of it is provided through our website.

At present the town of Yungaburra is serviced with a potable water supply drawn from the Tinaroo Dam. As Yungaburra grows, there may be a need for TRC to seek an increase allocation of water from Tinaroo Dam to service the town. Potable drinking water is currently regarded as a high priority water use.

Importantly, the need for an increased allocation of water can be reduced and delayed by implementing water saving measures in Yungaburra. Having one of the highest rates of consumption in the Tablelands, this action is a priority in Yungaburra and would save money for both water users and ratepayers collectively.