Communiqué No. 6, November 2009
Development of the draft Wide Bay Burnett Regional Water Supply Strategy (the strategy) is nearing completion. The strategy will identify options for how the region’s urban, industrial, mining and agricultural water demand will be met over the next 50 years.
The strategy is being developed in partnership between the Queensland Government and local governments, with the Department of Environment and Resource Management as the lead agency. Regional Councils, major water service providers, and key water user groups in the region are represented on a Strategy Management Committee (SMC) that provides strategic policy direction throughout the process.
The eighth meeting of the Strategy Management Committee was held on 11 November 2009. This communiqué provides a summary of the matters discussed at this meeting and the overall progress of the strategy.
There have been some significant strategic organisational changes as a result of the Machinery of Government changes implemented following the state election earlier this year with the previous government agencies of Natural Resources and Water and EPA combining to form the Department of Environment and Resource Management. These changes along with further detailed strategy work have delayed the finalisation of the draft strategy.
Work is continuing with further development of the draft strategy particularly aimed at incorporating comments provided following key stakeholder consultation. Specifically, additional work has been undertaken in the following areas:
- detailed work aimed at providing a more strategic direction for consideration of the risks associated with the water supplies to urban communities across the Wide Bay Burnett region;
- examination and refinement of the rural water demand and supply issues of identified rural based enterprises across Wide Bay and Burnett;
- specific options raised in the proposed McNamara Water Plan, their viability as options and any implications of the proposed option for the regions identified water availability and demand position;
- further assessment of climatic variability and change for water supply availability and demand projections;
- further assessments of demand for various towns with higher projected growth; and
- completion of several technical reports underpinning the development of the draft strategy
A revised preliminary draft strategy has been prepared for discussion purposes to the SMC. Further consultation with key stakeholders is being undertaken on some key issues.
Last updated 19 April 2011