{"id":227770,"date":"2019-02-05T22:51:18","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T12:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=227770"},"modified":"2022-11-16T13:18:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T03:18:54","slug":"council-reviews-nanango-water-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/02\/05\/council-reviews-nanango-water-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Council Reviews Nanango Water Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gordonbrook Water Treatment Plant was given a $9.68 million upgrade in the 2016-17 Council budget as part of plan to improve Kingaroy’s water supply … now an upgrade to Nanango’s ageing water treatment plant is being examined<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell (Photo: SBRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 5, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South Burnett Regional Council is reviewing a plan to connect Nanango to Kingaroy’s water supply via a 20km pipeline.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

At present, Nanango draws its water supply from bores sunk into the Barkers Creek aquifer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

One solution discussed inside Council was to connect Nanango to Kingaroy’s water supply via a pipeline.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The main supplies Kingaroy with water from the Gordonbrook Water Treatment Plant, and was a necessary first step for the Nanango pipeline plan.<\/p>\n

However, the Mayor told southburnett.com.au Council has recently begun to reappraise the idea of linking the two towns’ water systems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n