February 5, 2019
The South Burnett Regional Council is reviewing a plan to connect Nanango to Kingaroy’s water supply via a 20km pipeline.
On Tuesday, South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell said an alternative idea the Council was exploring was to upgrade Nanango’s ageing water treatment plant and connect it to the Tarong-Boondooma pipeline instead.
This may be a cheaper way to supply higher quality water to the town than building a pipeline, which was expected to cost at least $9 million and possibly more.
At present, Nanango draws its water supply from bores sunk into the Barkers Creek aquifer.
Nanango residents have complained for many years about the low quality of the town’s water, and some have abandoned it entirely in favour of tank water.
One solution discussed inside Council was to connect Nanango to Kingaroy’s water supply via a pipeline.
In November 2017, the Council kicked off this plan by awarding a $952,000 tender to a local business to supply materials for an upgrade of the Mount Wooroolin Water Supply Main.
The main supplies Kingaroy with water from the Gordonbrook Water Treatment Plant, and was a necessary first step for the Nanango pipeline plan.
However, the Mayor told southburnett.com.au Council has recently begun to reappraise the idea of linking the two towns’ water systems.
While not ruling out the pipeline proposal, staff in Council’s water section had suggested other possible approaches be investigated, and upgrading Nanango’s existing water treatment plant was one of them.
At present, Nanango uses an estimated 600 megalitres of water per year, a figure that is expected to rise over time as the town’s population expands.
The Mayor said a detailed examination of all alternative approaches was likely to take many months, so he was unable to forecast when this would occur or what the final decision might be.
However, he believed Council had an obligation to find the best solution to the problem, and was confident Councillors would choose the best option among the alternatives available.
- Related article: Council To Examine Pipeline Costs
What is happening to upgrade the water in Nanango?