LETTER TO EDITOR: Councillor candidate Terry Melchert delivers his solutions to the Douglas Shire's water issues
WATER ISSUES
Dear Editor,
It appears from the recent letter to the editor on water supply that Council has provided a red herring advice to the tourism Industry and to others and as a result, via this editorial, about the current problems with the water supply which in my opinion has deflected from the real Issue and requires a response to ensure the community is properly informed and not led up the garden path.
The real issue is not lack of water – how can it be – we are in the middle of a wet season and there are big flows in all the rivers that the Shire draws water from. And yet we have very high level four water restrictions and if you live in the Wonga area, often no water at all.
The real issue is a failure of successive recent Councils' to follow the plan prepared when the treatment plants were built over 20 years ago for an increasing treatment capacity as the Shire grew and demand increased.
I have been ringing the alarm bells about the need to upgrade the treatment plants for more than four years.
At the last election four years ago, my policies included the following statement – “I will work with the Mayor and Councillors to ensure the Shire’s water supply is returned to full supply without stringent water restrictions, by using the skills I have in managing municipal water assets.
The problem with the water supply is in the treatment system, and not because it is the incorrect type of treatment but rather that over the last seven years Council has not moved to expand the plants to meet growing demand from increasing population – both static and peak tourism season.
They have been able to wing it because Covid caused lower tourist numbers, we had small wet seasons and as you are aware, by having tight water restrictions. Previously, water restrictions in the Shire were unknown.
The current plant type was chosen by ratepayers through a survey that went to every ratepayer and with non-ratepayer residents having the chance to participate. They chose what at the time was the most expensive system because it delivers high quality water with the need for either no, or very little, chlorine use.
The plants have dealt with many dirty water events in the past without residents knowing that the water department staff were working flat out to keep the water flowing without interruption.
They could do it, although with much hard work, because the original design had extra capacity to cope with a slower treatment regime during dirty events.
However recent successive Councils have used the extra capacity to cope with increasing demand rather than increasing plant sizing. So, when the pressure came on the expected happened and we have a third world water supply.
Across the board, while the Council has no cash debt, it has as a huge infrastructure deficit debt not just in water, but in roads, drainage and to an extent, sewerage.
The talented engineers I worked with planned and designed for future expansion in the water and sewerage system and unfortunately no one has followed their well-thought-out long-term plans.
If elected my first recommendation to Council will be to have John Davis senior water and sewerage engineer of integrated transaction network and the lead engineer in the design of both the Port Douglas sewerage treatment plant and all the water treatment plants come to Douglas to review the issues and prepare solutions.
This would also involve interaction with the water treatment filter manufacturer – Koch membranes. Then quick action to fix the problems – we need a can-do Council.
With action, not continual hesitation, a new Council will be able to deliver the water supply and other services the community deserves and is used to, in a relatively short time frame.
All of the above long term asset outcomes can be properly and easily funded by modest debt and government infrastructure grants which Council has been missing out on for years.
While I appreciate the need for long term planning and I will have an eye to this for years three and four of the Council term.
My stated focus is fixing the water, sewerage, road system and a Daintree Ferry which has been converted from a self-funding operation to a huge liability for ratepayers so people can have a drink of water, a shower, flush the toilet ,have a well-maintained road system and a ferry that is not a drain on ratepayer funds.
Really, if we can’t achieve these goals quickly the current negative impact on tourism will become much more dire.
Kind regards,
Terry Melchert - 2024 Councilllor Candidate
- A reminder the views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and author only and do not reflect those of the editor or Newsport staff.
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