On tap in the Douglas Shire

As a community we are surprisingly passionate about our tap water, we boast that our H2O is better than anyone else’s, with sought-after mouthfeel qualities being a purer taste from other councils, cities, and states. We have become “on tap” connoisseurs often putting our noses up to a “bad” drip when visiting anywhere else outside our Shire.

So, how with a simple twist of the faucet does the water up here become the delicious presence of life that quenches our parched souls?

Not all tap water is created equal, the purity of our drinking water really comes down to two things – the source it originates from and the level of filtration it goes through before it gets to our taps.

Douglas Shire water stars from pristine sources that are a high-end luxury in most other countries - the raw water comes by remote intakes in rugged, weathered, and granitic terrain, with extraction locations that are from pure rainforest and relatively untouched by human activity.

The infrastructure put in place to deliver water from source to tap has been cleverly designed to ensure there is no effect on our immaculate environment.

Flowing down from the mountains the Shire draws its water from three intake points – Mossman at Rex Creek Intake, Whyanbeel at Little Falls Creek Intake, and Daintree at Intake Creek.

Guided to the “throat” of the catchment that collects the roaring water, it’s channelled to intake screens for its first filtration before it travels to the Mossman treatment plant.

To further underscore the cleanliness and safety, the Water and Wastewater Department of the DSC filters its naturally clean water multiple times before it reaches the tap.

They are dedicated to making sure our community meets some rigorously statutory requirements and minimising environmental impacts to ensure that drop from the tap is high-quality, safe, and tastes great.

For extra good measure, drinking water sampling occurs at intakes, reservoirs, and in the reticulation network to ensure compliance with national guidelines.

If it were to come down to a blind taste test even the shrewdest bottled water advocates wouldn’t taste a difference from the Douglas Shire’s own rainforest “designer” tap water than any fancy bottle like Evian, Aquafina, or Fiji – plus there is no nasty plastics left over, that’s enough for me to keep going back to the tap.

Every Drop Counts

The Douglas Shire is in a unique situation as it has no dams for water storage, so freshwater is supplied by our flowing creeks, with many of the extraction points in pristine rainforest and relatively untouched by human activity.

According to Council, once extracted, raw water is treated at Council’s treatment plants and travels through the reticulation network to homes or is stored in treated water reservoirs throughout the region.
The volume of water that can be extracted from the creek is restricted by a licence and reduces relative to the creek depth to ensure healthy waterways are maintained.

So, when the creek water levels are low, less water can be extracted, hence the supply is vulnerable to climatic conditions in the dry season.

Future options

We are all well aware of the ebbs and flow of water restrictions in the region. To better fortitude the shire’s water supply the Douglas Council has set a priority as part of the 2021/22 Annual Budget with $3.73 million allocated towards working on the water network and water quality.

Douglas Shire Council is taking vital steps to meet the Shire’s future water demand by conducting a feasibility analysis on proposed water security solutions with the most viable option to be determined this year.

Options include an alternate water intake on the Mossman River and bulk raw water storage akin to an artificial lake, with plans to progress the best solution to shovel-ready status to enable grant funding applications to commence.

Click here for more information on the Douglas Shire water supply management.