State Member for Scenic Rim, Jon Krause, has urged Seqwater to enable the use of Wyaralong Dam water for stock and non-domestic purposes during the current period of prolonged drought.
“Every week, more and more people are needing to cart water for stock – couldn’t Seqwater enable dam water to be used for this, rather than treated water? It should be cheaper and it would help preserve the supply of treated town water too. In addition to that, Main Roads, Council and other industrial users of water – it would seem – are using treated water from Urban Utilities for roads and other projects where water is needed.”
Mr Krause raised questions with Seqwater about why water, treated expensively for human consumption and put through the distribution process of Urban Utilities, was being used for such uses where raw water could easily be substituted.
“It is not hard to see why people are upset with the use of such water when we have a situation where the new $4 million Canungra water treatment plant was taken offline last week due to a shortage of water in Canungra Creek – forcing the trucking of water from Beaudesert’s water treatment plant to Canungra.”
Mr Krause said that residents are questioning why Wyaralong Dam water could not be used by farmers and others in the region.
“All our farmers see is a dam that is evaporating, while people requiring untreated water – both business, local government, Main Roads and farmers alike – are seemingly forced to purchase, expensive, precious drinking water fit for human consumption – it seems like such a waste and also very expensive for people who need to buy treated water when they don’t really need it,” Mr Krause said.