CSIRO Flagship Excited about Toowoomba Water Futures

July 18, 2005

CSIRO Flagship Excited about Toowoomba Water Futures

CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship has expressed its enthusiasm for Toowoomba City Council’s Toowoomba Water Futures project.

Flagship Director Colin Creighton said, “This project puts the ‘closed loop’ concept into a reality. This will create a renewable water source and of course, foster increased commercial enterprise and liveability for the Garden City.”

The planned construction of an Advanced Water Treatment Plant will provide a reusable water source.  The purified water from the Advanced Water Treatment Plant will be reclaimed into Lake Cooby.

“Existing systems that could be called “reuse” in Australia use Rivers like the Murrumbidgee.

“Canberra’s treated waste flows downstream before being used by towns further down the Murrumbidgee.

“The difference here is that Toowoomba with its “closed loop” will be more in control of its own future – a future based on reliable water supply.

“The Reverse Osmosis process that will be used in Toowoomba’s Advanced Water Treatment Plant and then flow through Lake Cooby more than replicates this cleansing process – again with greater control.

“The CSIRO National Research Flagship sees what’s planned for Toowoomba and its neighbouring shires as a viable strategy for sustainable water supplies for regional cities.

“CSIRO’s involvement will include evaluating what other regional centres might benefit from the ‘closed loop’ approach” said Mr Creighton.