Councillor Councillor Column - Cr Alan Barr - Water and WastewaterColumn - Cr Alan Barr - Water and Wastewater

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I’d like to thank everybody who re-elected me into Council for a second consecutive term.
Once again my allocated Portfolio focuses on Water and Wastewater.

Since May 2018, the focus for this portfolio has been the Water Infrastructure Upgrade Project (WIUP) – our region’s largest capital project in recent times at a cost of $21.55m, with co-funding from the Federal Government of $8.65m.

It is pleasing we are nearing the finish line for this project, but even more so, is that we are now advocating for a second stage to be added to WIUP (WIUP – Stage 2).

WIUP Stage 2 will be the realisation of the new capacity and involves 2 elements:

  • Building a replacement reservoir to allow the 120-year-old concrete reservoir on Towers Hill to finally retire; and
  • Constructing a new water main from the water treatment plant to Towers Hill as the current water main, built in the 1970s, has been found to have deteriorated and therefore is more likely to fail.

In addition to Water, Waste Management, including refuse tips, is now also included in this portfolio.

It is an exciting and challenging time to be involved with waste considering the Queensland Government’s ambitious goal to transform the recycling and waste industry.

With a State Government focus on waste, Council sees an opportunity to investigate future improvements such as waste transfer stations and subsidised transport schemes to assist in making recycling more viable as well as improving on the current service provided to residents.

OGG 4 June 2020