Water Vision 2050 document handed down to Toowoomba Regional Council, making key findings and recommendations

A major new report into the region’s water security until 2050 and beyond has been handed down to the Toowoomba Regional Council, with the document making a number of key recommendations.

Cressbrook Dam. Picture by Cathy Finch

The Toowoomba Regional Council has endorsed a major report into the future of the region’s water security until 2050.

Independent consultants Engeny Water Supply has returned the Water Vision 2050 report to the councillors, with the document making a number of recommendations for current and future water needs.

These included increasing the allocation of water from Wivenhoe Dam to Cressbrook Dam by 4000 megalitres per year.

Water and waste chair Cr Rebecca Vonhoff said the document was an overview of water supply, challenges and opportunities for the region.

“This is an important document which highlights just how much work is needed to secure water security for our Region,” she said.

“We need to be focused on the long-term — we need to think of people, jobs and the land.

“In total, 48 options were identified including ideas such as new pipelines, cloud seeding, recycled water, building new dams, raising dam walls and sourcing water from dams outside the boundaries of our region.

“The options were assessed in terms of cost and if a yield could be calculated.”

The report filtered the 48 project through several criteria, with Engeny concluding there were four long-term options that were financially possibly and would have significant benefits to water security.

They included replenishing Cooby Dam with purified recycled water and making permanent and duplicating the Wivenhoe to Cressbrook pipeline to meet future supply deficits.

“This report made two things clear to me — firstly, that we need state and federal funding for water infrastructure,” Cr Vonhoff said.

“This report shows how limited our options are if they don’t support us financially — our pockets are simply not deep enough.

“Secondly, that we have until as soon as 2022 to upgrade the Mt Kynoch treatment plant so we have to act quickly, but with the utmost care given how critical the plant is to providing safe drinking water.”

Along with the upgrade of Mt Kynoch and the increase the water allocation from Wivenhoe, the report also recommended the council increase its annual allocation from Cressbrook Creek into Cressbrook Dam from 14,000ML a year to 20,000ML.

“It is important to note that this document does not take into account an idea for a southern pipeline which was raised by the State Government in late 2019,” Cr Vonhoff said.

“We continue to ask for more information from the State Government before councillors consider their support or opposition to the pipeline project.

“It is recommended that the next version of water vision targets completion in 2022 by when we would expect more clarity from the State Government.”

Cr Vonhoff said the TRC was planning to connect Cambooya, Greenmount, Nobby, Clifton and Vale View to the region’s bulk water supply, with another six still unconnected.

“We will continue to add new elements and refine the document on a five year cycle with the next version in 2022, unless there are triggers that warrant an earlier review,” she said.

It comes a week after the TRC created a water alliance with five other southern Queensland and northern NSW councils, in the hopes of better strategic planning and generating greater bargaining power with higher levels of government.