Hey Fester and Ludwig,
You misread my post, I agree that there is no alternative to a halt in development in some towns/cities in Australia.
I was mearly stating why governments go dumb and make quiet mumbling noises. I think they find themselves between a rock and a hard place and then look how far it is to the next election.

There is no easy answer. The crunch will come and steps taken now will be a lot less painful than steps taken when the dams run down to the scrappings.

Sunday 5th…back to comments on the courier mail of Brisbane Qld publication. At
http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/vitalinterest/index.php/couriermail/comments/should_toowomba_be_allowed_to_draw_water_from_the_wivenhoe_dam/#commentsmore

I can give you the gist of the argument here, but I would prefer you take a look yourself,
But it does seem that us outsiders [not residents of the great south-east] would not have our comments printed..
The writer has lived in the great_south_east, as the tourist promoters like to call that area of Queensland. “We suffered our times of drought, and we had our flood times too.” Oh, how easy they forget! It is not until the well runs dry do they question, where has all the water gone? There is hole in the bucket dear Peter, dear Peter_Beattie oh great wise one!

It was great using your power, given you by the voters of Qld, that you could cut the farmer off in irrigating his/her crops. Divert all the water to the power house so farmers who were driven off the land with your “New Improved Dairy Scheme,” following the Southern States Example of buying & marketing milk & milk products. “I recall all the distributed leaflets sent out to the families so they could have ‘counselling,’ in what to do next! Some got a little monetary compensation for time & money lost in failed farm enterprise, but what is that compared to loss of life-style!”

As I mentioned in my comments, yesterday The Energy Providers were coming under scrutiny from the water consumption of the two power houses of Taronga & Swanbank.
So, you will build more and more buildings requiring full air conditioning. If you could open a window, is the air worth breathing, that blows in? What does these Courier Mail Writers think that Steam driven turbines run on? Coal & Water, and lots of both!

It would be interesting to know how many posters are from Toowoomba...

Gecko makes the most valid point...all new houses should have dual water supply pipes for both re-cycled and current municipal supplies...one for drinking and one for flushing and watering.

Treatment plants fail now, who would take responsibility for the sickness and/or deaths that would occur after failure of a treatment plant which was supplying the treated sewerage water for public consumption?

I can't see anyone question the sense in taking recycled water that is currently used by farmers to water vegetables or crops so that townspeople can drink it...what will be used to water the veges that we all need to eat?

How's that for shortsightedness from the leaders in the community?

Use the rainfall more judiciously and channel the massive rainfalls that fall in various parts of this continent so it may be used more effectively and also cause less damage, i.e., to the Great Barrier Reef and our river systems when the northern wet hits.

Governments and councils should offer incentives for safe installation of tank water systems and mulching of home gardens, where appropriate.

While I don't live in Toowoomba, the attitude of some posters who would rather deride those residents or 'Queenslanders' in general, than provide any logical argument...is simply narrow-minded ignorance.

Look at all the facts...

It seems Meg1 doesn't know any Queenslanders.
Now the two pipes in Qld would have to be one for drinking and one to rinse the mouth out when cleaning a Quieenslander's teeth.
Meg, Queensalnders pride themselves in NOT being Australian. They pride themselves in being Queenslanders.

If non-Queenslanders share such nonsensical views as Glenwriter's assumptions and that is the sole basis of their argument...then I guess I can understand why Queenslanders would hold that view.

I know many Queenslanders and they consider themselves very much Australians...except when State of Origin is being played...given the refereeing during the last State of Origin, even the most ardent cockroach supporter would have found contradictory decisions in that one hard to justify...like your generalisations about Queenslanders, Glenwriter.

If you consider that our council and government leaders, or the green movements for that matter, take ALL necessary facts into consideration...then you need to check the facts for yourselves.

The dual pipe system would obviously allow water for cleaning teeth to be delivered from the same pipe that supplies drinking water...common sense surely tells you that much, unless your vision in that regard is as blinkered as your parochialism.

These issues are serious for those affected by them...they deserve a fair appraisal of all the facts, without glib generalisations based on their place of residence.

I guess their argument in reply could be that thousands of 'southerners' can't all be wrong about becoming Queenslanders...it seems that's how many move to Queensland from south of the border every month.

I suggest that you check how many Australian rivers and streams already contain dangerous bacterial or viral contaminants before adding the additional faecal material suggested there. Cholera has been found for starters...it's not one I'd like to see become a threat there or here...guess how it is spread.

Of course those who can afford to buy their water will be ok, it's just those who can't afford to do so who will be the first to suffer any ill effects...and who will have the least to say in the final decision.

Can anyone tell me WHY we are not supplementing our water shortage using the limitless resources from the ocean?.Desalination etc..I mean it is possible to drink seawater and is not used waste.

It probably sounds like a silly question and I acknowledge that , so can anyone enlighten me?It sounds so obvious that I guess I definitely have missed something.