The Federal Government has partnered with the Queensland Government, local councils and community groups to deliver water infrastructure improvements across the state.
Under the new $211 million Water Infrastructure for Sustainable and Efficient Regions (WISER) initiative major water projects will receive significant funding boosts.
These projects include the Central Highlands Drinking Water Supply Program in Central Queensland, which will receive a $5.9 million boost and the Cassowary Coast Leak Reduction project in north Queensland, which will receive $9 million.
The Central Highlands program will help upgrade two water treatment plants and will deliver supporting infrastructure, improving the reliability and quality of water supply to the towns of Bauhinia, Capella and Rolleston.
The project will also enable the use of recycled water for irrigation of community spaces, including a school and sporting ground.
The $5.9 million project is supported by $2.3 million from the Federal Government, through the National Water Grid Fund, $2.0 million from the Queensland Government and $1.6 million from the Central Highlands Regional Council.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, said that the government is committed to protecting water resources for the communities, industries, and environment that depend on them.
“We’re pleased to partner with the Queensland Government and Central Highlands Regional Council to provide communities in the Central Highlands of Queensland with a more reliable water supply,” Minister Plibersek said.
Queensland Minister for Water, Glenn Butcher, said that State Government continues to deliver for the people of the Central Highlands and Central Queensland.
“This upgrade is about more than delivering critical water infrastructure, it’s a cost-of-living measure that will benefit the community long term,” Minister Butcher said.
“This funding is helping to put downward pressure on rates and water bills, while future-proofing the region’s water infrastructure and water supply resilience.
“I’m proud to work alongside the Federal Government and council to deliver this funding – I know how important water security is for Central Highlands community.
“We will continue to support Councils across Central Queensland with their water infrastructure needs, including our support for projects in Livingstone, Gladstone, Rocky and of course Central Highlands.”
Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor, Janice Moriarty, said that the Central Highlands is a large rural region, so it needs to be smart and use technology to improve drinking water quality and reliability in all corners of the council area.
“This $5.9 million water project is expected to generate 5 new jobs, with the project planning to commence in November 2024 and expected to be completed by May 2027.”
The Cassowary Coast Leak Reduction project will upgrade water mains by replacing parts of the ageing pipelines across regional towns Tully, Innisfail and Nyletta, and install infrastructure to help identify and manage future leakages. This will achieve significant water savings of around 588 megalitres per year.
The $9 million project is supported by $4 million in matched funding from the Federal Government, through the National Water Grid Fund, and the Queensland Government, with a $978,000 contribution from the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
Minister Plibersek said that this is a really exciting project that will deliver significant water savings for the communities of Tully, Innisfail and Nyletta.
“It’s a pleasure to work with the Queensland Government and the Cassowary Coast Regional Council to secure a sustainable future for both our environment and future generations.”
Cassowary Coast Regional Council Mayor, Teresa Millwood, said that although the region is in the wet tropics, it still encounters issues around water sustainability and efficiency, due to aging infrastructure.
“The investment from all three levels of government is crucial and timely to help us combat the failures we are seeing in our aged reticulated network, which not only impacts the continuity of water supply to our residents, but also sees precious water resources go down the drain.”
The WISER initiative is supporting 23 projects to deliver more efficient and sustainable water use in regional communities across Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia.
Helping to drive the nation’s transition to a circular economy, many of the projects will be powered by renewable energy, use recycled materials, and refurbish existing structures to reduce the construction footprint.
Image: Kletr/shutterstock.com
