Toowoomba Regional Council put urgent water restrictions in place for Highfields, Kleinton and Meringandan

Toowoomba Regional Council has urged a number of Toowoomba suburbs to restrict their water usage. Find out why.

With the mercury rising in time for spring, Toowoomba Regional Council has urged multiple suburbs to cut their water usage drastically to ward off the threat of drought and fire.

Toowoomba Regional Council on Monday issued an urgent water restriction mandate for the suburbs of Highfields, Kleinton, and Meringandan.

Across Saturday and Sunday, all three of these Toowoomba suburbs’ water usage levels reached 306 litres per person per day. The limit is 200 litres per person per day.

According to SEQ Water, the average South East Queensland person uses up to 174 litres of water per day.

Mt Kynoch Water Treatment Plant north of Toowoomba. The Toowoomba water recycling debate is hotting up ahead of the referendum due on 29/7/06.

Toowoomba Regional Council deputy mayor and Water and Waste Committee chair Rebecca Vonhoff said it all comes down to the reservoir used for the northern suburbs.

“For Highfields, Kleinton, and Meringandan, their water is supplied from the Mt Kynoch treatment plant, which then filters through to the Borghardt Road reservoir,” Ms Vonhoff said.

“What we saw yesterday was people watering their lawns, their gardens and filling their pools in the warmer temperatures.”

“People in these high-profile suburbs also tend to have bigger blocks. Because of this amount of water use tank at the reservoir did not have the opportunity to refill overnight, which meant on Sunday it was so low some residents had poor water pressure and many had concerns.

“So restrictions were put in place to help refill the tank.”

Councillor Rebecca Vonhoff. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Ray White Highfields principal, Tony Franke said Highfields and surrounding suburbs were highly affluent suburbs.

“Highfields is a high socio-economic area … less than 20 per cent of properties in the suburb are rentals,” Mr Franke said.

Mr Franke said the average property in Highfields was anywhere between 1000 to 2500sq m. Most properties include a large yard or pool, so water usage is undoubtedly going to be high, particularly in the warmer months.

“Both Kleinton and Meringandan are in the name socio-economic band as well … the average pricing for houses around these suburbs is $800,000,” Mr Franke said.

“The stereotypical demographic for Highfields and surrounding are young families and retirees.”

Mr Franke explained the vast majority of households in these northern suburbs hold multiple people.

Ms Vonhoff said the Toowoomba Regional Council would be working to find a long-term solution.

“We have to work out what the potential options are … we are working as a team,” Ms Vonhoff said.

“We also recognise that the area of Highfields is one of the fastest growing parts of our region and the eventual construction of an additional reservoir for the area in the longer term will provide additional storage capacity and resilience in future.”

“We are asking the same questions are residents are … the point is how does this happen, how did we get to this point?

“We will get answers.”

Council has maximised flow rates to the Borghardt Road reservoir through a valve at Lawrence Road in an effort to replenish the reservoir quicker.

Water restrictions will continue to remain in place, with residents urged to limit their water usage to at least 200 litres a day.

Weather forecast

The week ahead in Toowoomba is set to be a scorcher. The Garden City will reach its maximum temperature by Sunday with a top of 33C, with the coolest day this week forecast to be on Wednesday at 23C.

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted it’s going to be sunny all week long and UV ratings are predicted to reach level 10, so make sure you stock up on sunscreen and invest in a hat.

In terms of rain, Toowoomba’s looking at a measly 5 per cent chance on the weekend so it’s no doubt we are looking at a dry summer this year.