Tugun desalination plant revved up to save southeast Queensland from drought

A new move by SEQ Water will keep the Gold Coast from going into severe drought mode - but it’s coming at a cost.

THE desalination plant in Tugun will be revved up for the first time in six years to stop southeast Queensland from going into drought mode – but it is going to cost taxpayers $106,400 a day.

SEQ Water boffins say the region is one bad wet season short of strict water restrictions not seen for a decade.

While the Hinze Dam is 87.9 per cent full, the overall grid which supplies Brisbane, Logan and the Gold and Sunshine coasts has dropped to 61.1 per cent. SEQ Water considers 50 per cent to be drought-breaking point.

The desal plant, which cost $1.2 billion in 2009, will be cranked up this month from 5 per cent output to 100 per cent, producing up to 133 million litres every day at a cost of $800 a mega litre.

Hinze Dam water levels over the last 12 months.

If required, it can reach 100 per cent capacity within 72 hours.

It is too early to say what it will do to household water bills with a SEQ Water spokesman saying the increased costs of the desal plant would be reviewed by the Queensland Competition Authority in June 2020.

Last year the plant supplied up to 25 per cent of the drinking water in Brisbane and Ipswich while the Mount Crosby East Bank plant was offline.

The extra water, which will be pumped into reservoirs and then the treatment plants at Molendinar and Mudgeeraba, will be enough to supply the SEQ Water catchment without eating into the 60 per cent grid.

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“We are still at least another wet season away from having to consider mandatory water restrictions, which would come into effect across southeast Queensland when the region’s combined dam levels reach 50 per cent capacity,” a spokesman for SEQ Water said.

Water restrictions were last in place on the Gold Coast in 2008. They included no watering of gardens between 10am and 4pm and using only a bucket to wash cars, houses and equipment.

Gold Coasters are using the most water in the SEQ region, soaking up 182 litres every day, well above the 169 litre average.

The Gold Coast desalination plant may stop southeast Queensland going into severe water restrictions.

Scenic Rim residents use 122 litres, and Brisbanites 167 litres.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate supported measures to prevent the city from having to activate mandatory water restrictiosn.

“They are umming and arring about (turning on) the desal plant but the time to do it is now,” Cr Tate said.

“Don’t wait until the water levels get down to 50 per cent and increase the burden on everyone with water restrictions.

“Gold Coasters will say our dam is a 90 per cent and we have water restrictions? They won’t understand. They’ll think it’s bulls*** and not take notice of it.

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“I do not think people will believe in water restrictions at that level – they’ll think we are crying wolf.

“(Former Premier Peter) Beattie spent $9 billion on the water grid, situations like this are why it was created. Let’s utilise it.”

Maintenance works are underway with the plant to come back on-line this month.

The work includes repairs to pipework, servicing pumps and various inspections and condition assessments.

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SANDY DAYS: Leslie Dam in the Southerndowns is at 5.43 per cent.

For those outside of the SEQ Water grid, the situation is dire.

Those on the Southern Downs, just 200km west of the Gold Coast, will be moving to truck in water at a cost of $800,000 a month.

Mayor Tracy Dobie said her council was also considering constructing a pipe to tap into the SEQ water grid and ultimately the Tugun desal plant.

At present she believed it would be too costly to consider trucking directly from the Gold Coast to towns such as Stanthorpe and Warwick.

Residents in the region are being asked to survive on just 100 litres a day, nearly half of the Gold Coast average.

“We have enough above groundwater to get us through to about the third quarter of next year,” Cr Dobie said.

“That means we will be trucking water from Warwick’s Leslie Dam to Stanthorpe’s Storm King dam by the end of this year if we don’t get significant rainfall by November.”

Leslie Dam is 5.43 per cent full with 5769 megalitres, while Storm King dam, with 351 megalitres, is at 17 per cent and is the sole supply for Stanthorpe’s urban supply network.

In September, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the region would be given about $800,000 per month to truck in 34 truckloads of water per day.

Hinze Dam, at the Gold Coast is at 93.3 per cent.

Cr Dobie said a pipe from Allora to Toowoomba could conceivably give the region access to water shared by Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast.

“It is also possible to transport water from trucks, from other regions like the Gold Coast but that would come at a huge cost and could be done in an emergency not for a long extended known amount of time.”

“Our situation is very difficult. What we do need is visitors to come to our region.

“We are happy to share out water with visitors from places like the Gold Coast if you come to see our towns and communities and help put money into our economy.

Natural Resources Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the State Government was supplying the money to cover the cost of carting water in the Southern Downs, but did not go as far as committing to connect the region to the Gold Coast supply.

“A significant pipe network and associated pumping stations would need to be constructed to allow desalination water to be transported to Stanthorpe,” Mr Lynham said.

“Any new water infrastructure project would require due diligence to prove it was viable.”

More than half of Queensland is drought declared (65 per cent), with some areas having dealt with drought conditions since 2013.