South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duffs heads delegation on water issues

South Burnett officials, led by Mayor Kathy Duff, travelled to Brisbane on Monday to address pressing water security issues plaguing the region.

South Burnett officials, led by Mayor Kathy Duff, travelled to Brisbane on Monday to address pressing water security issues plaguing the region.

A delegation led by new South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff travelled to Brisbane on Monday to speak to government officials about water security issues plaguing the region in recent years.

Councillor Jane Erkens, CEO Mark Pitt, infrastructure manager Aaron Meehan and water and wastewater manager Adam Branch were also part of the delegation.

The group met with Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water Department acting director general Linda Dobe and acting deputy director general Jarrod Crowley-Grimmond.

“Sourcing a reliable water source for the South Burnett region is of utmost importance,” Ms Duff said.

“In a region that is diverse and rich in agriculture, the ability to access additional water has become critical for public health and economic security.”

Council currently sources its primary urban water supplies from Boondooma Dam, Bjelke Peterson Dam, Gordonbrook Dam and underground bores.

Mark Pitt, Jane Erkens, Kathy Duff, Linda Dobe, Aaron Meehan, Jarrod Crowley-Grimmond and Adam Branch.

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“With numerous residents concerned with water quality putting the South Burnett’s critical priorities on the table is of high priority,” Ms Duff said.

The new council has outlined four “critical priorities” in a statement:

1. Assistance and funding to develop a detailed infrastructure plan to improve water security, raw water quality (source and allocation) and upgrade treatment plants to meet health based targets and improve water quality aesthetics for Kingaroy, Nanango, Wondai and Murgon.

2. Assistance with access to and funding of progressive acquisition of additional high priority water allocation to provide acceptable water security for Kingaroy and ultimately Nanango.

3. Secure funding to assist with the construction of the 150ML off-stream storage for Boondooma water at Gordonbrook Water Treatment Plant.

4. Funding assistance supporting Acceptable Flood Capacity Upgrades for Gordonbrook Dam.

In the statement, the council said it was working towards mandated referable dam upgrades for Gordonbrook Dam.

Kingaroy water in March 2024.

In recent years residents have expressed their frustrations at the quality of their water with reports of discoloured water in Kingaroy and unpalatable water in Nanango.

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In March after winning the Mayoral race, Ms Duff said the water issue was on the top of her list.

“The big ticket item is the Kingaroy and Nanango water. I’ve made a commitment to investigate and do a thorough investigation, find solutions and costing on how to fix the quality of water.”

Ms Duff said the conversations and advocacy will continue but acknowledged a lot is needed to be done to bring the water infrastructure “up to speed.”

“We are not wasting any time,” she said.