Cairns – we have a problem. A growing population means that without action, we face the real possibility of a drinking water shortfall by 2026. Importantly, Cairns Regional Council has a solution. The Cairns Water Security – Stage 1 project is well advanced and will access new water capacity from the Mulgrave River, treat it, and deliver it from Aloomba in the south to Palm Cove in the north. It delivers new water capacity like a dam but at a fraction of the cost and at a much lighter environmental footprint.
The project does come at a significant cost – $215 million. Without funding support from the Federal and/or State Governments, this cost burden will fall on the residents and ratepayers of Cairns. But why should it. At this very moment, State and Federal Governments are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in water projects in other parts of Queensland. It’s time for similar levels of investment to be made in Cairns.
Show your support by uploading your organisation/business logo to Council’s supporters ‘logo board’ so we can demonstrate to both the Federal and State Governments how important this project is to the future of Cairns.
Find out more about the project here.
[Speak up for water security – TTNQ Fortnightly Pulse – 22 September 2021]