Gympie Division 6 Cr Hilary Smerdon

November 27, 2020

Standpipe users in the Gympie Regional Council may soon be singing the same tune as their counterparts in the South Burnett: “You’ve put up the water much more than you oughta!”

At Wednesday’s Council meeting, GRC councillors voted to almost double the cost of water from filling stations.

The cost per kilolitre will rise from $2.80 to $5.50 from February 1.

This is still under the temporary $6/kl cost for potable water in the South Burnett, put in place until December 31 after community protests following a jump to $10/kl in July.

The Gympie meeting heard that Council needed to raise the charges to invest in future infrastructure that will ensure the sustainability of water services.

The price rise would also discourage water carters based outside the Gympie region from filling up at local standpipes.

Rural councillors Deputy Mayor Hilary Smerdon (Division 6) and Cr Warren Polley (Division 7) voted against the increase.

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