THE HEAVY rain which has lashed south-east Queensland in the recent days has renewed calls for the state government to abandon its recycled water plans.
Brisbane is set to become the first city in Australia to use recycled sewage as drinking water in 2009. The treated water will be pumped through the Wivenhoe Dam through a $1.7b pipeline.
The water will be treated at the Western Corridor Re-Cycled Water Project (WCRWP), the largest water recycling project in the Southern Hemisphere.
However the rainfall has pushed the combined total of the region’s dams above 43%, the highest level in three years.
Lobby groups opposing the plan say the dam increases mean the government should halt all plans for human consumption of treated effluent. They say there is a risk of viruses, bacteria and chemicals entering the drinking supply, so the water should only be used for industrial use.
Rosemary Morley, of Citizens Against Drinking Sewage, says the government should build more dams rather than make people drink the “dangerous” water, especially with an election looming.
Professor Patrick Troy, of Australian National University (ANU), echoes the calls. He says the recycled sewage could be used for things like cooling water in power stations, watering gardens, flushing toilets and in laundries rather than potentially “subjecting the population to diseases and variety of illnesses.”
According to Prof. Troy, water authorities should have better informed the Government to avoid the "moral panic" that has arisen.
Microbiologist Peter Collignon, from the Canberra Hospital, says viruses could still slip through the seven-stage purification system being used by the treatment facilities.
He says a mistake or malfunction for just one day in every three to five years could lead to a contamination which could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of people.
The Premier, Anna Bligh, is waiting for advice from the Queensland Water Commission before she considers ditching the recycled water plans.
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