Queensland to develop plans for south east region’s future water use

The Queensland Government in Australia has called for feedback over plans to develop a long-term strategy for maintaining water security in the south east region of the state.

The government has released a discussion paper outlining several options under consideration and is inviting residents and businesses to make a submission by the end of the year.

Queensland Acting Minister for Energy and Water Supply Andrew Cripps said that as dams in the south east are almost full, it is the right time to develop a long-term strategy for water management.

"This discussion paper is about ensuring there is adequate planning for proactive and cost-effective management, and that the region will always have enough water to meet our essential water needs," he said.

"This will prevent the reactive, costly response that occurred during the water crisis in the mid-2000s.

"Part of our approach is to create new service objectives setting the ‘minimum’ requirements to make sure we have enough water to use in a drought situation."

The new programme, which is anticipated to be developed by mid-2015, will unveil the arrangements and measures in place to facilitate the desired level of service objectives.

The programme will also include information about operating the bulk water supply system, potential future bulk water infrastructure needs and drought response.

---

Image: Queensland Acting Minister for Energy and Water Supply Andrew Cripps. Photo: courtesy of The State of Queensland (Department of the Premier and Cabinet).