Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The man from Queensland... he say "Yes"
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has declared the State will drink recycled water after all.

Originally the Premier has stated that Queenslanders will have a say in a State-wide plebescite in March, but such is now the urgency of the situation he has made the decision for us.

The past 12 months have been the driest on record in South East Queensland and run-off into major dams has been 20 per cent less than the previous worst year on record, 2004-05.

By the end of 2008 sewage water will be filtered, treated and pumped back up into the Wivenhoe catchment where it will be naturally re-filter and treated again before re-entering the reticulated system.

Last year, the residents of the City of Toowoomba – already then on Level 4 restrictions – voted “no” to drinking recycled water. Instead they opted for the do-nothing approach to water management.

Beattie’s decision will override this, but will not immediately affect Toowoomba, as it does not yet draw water from the Wivenhoe system.

Sure enough, the top marketing consultants in government have come up with some comforting words to mitigate public concern over quality.

It is not just ‘recycled water’ but ‘purified recycled water’.

It is not just ‘filtered’ but ‘ultra-filtered’.

So it must be safe then.

Beattie said, "No one is going to know the difference. The truth is, it is going to be better."

Then he said once dam levels have recovered and it is not needed, it will be switched off.

But why switch it off, if it is going to be better?

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