When I got up early on Wednesday morning and put on the kettle, my still foggy brain didn’t give the slightest thought on what makes it possible for me to simply turn on the tap. Nor dare I say did 99.99% of the 30-odd people present at our meeting, nor the 600,000 residents of the Gold Coast, nor the 3 Million people who are daily relying on SEQ Water to fully function. Turn on the tap and sweet water pours out. Yet, just visualise for a moment the consequences of the water not running, say, just for a couple of days. Not having your morning cuppa would be the least of your problems, particularly if you live in a high density area!Jeremy Bishop, who describes himself as an ‘Engagement Advisor’, together with his co-worker Katrina Lambert, provided us with a very professional, concise presentation on the huge organisation which quietly ensures that such a nightmare scenario will not happen. In control of some $11 Billion worth of dams, water treatment plants and pipelines, SEQ Water doesn’t just provide drinking and bath water, but also irrigation water to 1200 farmers.
Remember the “Millennium Drought”? It wasn’t pretty. The Hinze Dam (at that time Stage 3 hadn’t been built yet), as well as overall dam levels in South East Queensland went on average to around the 20% mark. Meanwhile, we have a Desalination Plant and Stage 3 of the Hinze Dam, built in 2011, doubled its capacity to over 310,000 Million Litres. Our ‘Water Grid’ boasts some 600 Km of bi-directional water pipeline. Space does not permit to outline Jeremy’s seminar in detail, but on the Download Pages (right side) you will find a PDF of his PowerPoint which is very interesting reading indeed.
(Photo, from left: Chairman of the day, Peter Morgan, Katrina Lambert, SEQ Water, Jeremy Bishop)