Townsville Update

Written by: Cr Jenny Hill | Mayor of Townsville | November 30, 2018

As we approach the end of a huge 12 months for Council, I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve achieved.

It’s been a year of delivering on our promises and getting on with the job. From myself and everyone at Townsville City Council, here’s to a healthy and rewarding festive break and New Year for you, your family and friends. I will be spending Christmas with my family, as I’m sure most of you will be too. There’s nothing like the festive season to bring everybody together.

I’m very pleased our city now has bipartisan support for full federal funding of Stage 2 of the pipeline – which extends the infrastructure from the Haughton Channel through to the Clare Weir. This means on completion we will be able to pump up to 364ML of water for resident’s consumption a day which will increase the capacity of the pipeline by more than 50% compared to Stage 1.

I am also very happy Council has selected three local firms to install the first sections of Stage 1 of our new water pipeline – creating up to 150 local jobs. NQ Excavations and CivilPlus Constructions will start installing almost half of the 36km pipeline between the Ross River Dam and the Haughton Channel. We split the work packages on the pipeline to ensure local companies had the best opportunity to win work on the project.

As you know, water security for our community and the new 1.8m diameter water pipeline is Council’s top infrastructure priority. We are absolutely committed to delivering the pipeline by the end of 2019. It is a crucial plank of Council’s 3-point water security solution and it is a huge job creator for Townsville.

We’re getting on with the job of delivering our $10 million Water Smart Package, funded by the Queensland Government as part of $225 million grant to improve water security for Townsville. It will provide vouchers or rebates for a range of water saving products such as water-efficient irrigation systems, low-flow shower heads, drought-resistant turf and compost bins to our community.

The festive season coincides with Cyclone Season, which means we must be disaster ready. Take the time to prepare yourself and your home for Cyclones to ensure you are ready should we be faced with an unwelcome natural event this year. You can find a link to our disaster management dashboard on Council’s website.

I sincerely hope you get to spend as much time with loved ones as possible over the holiday season and have a safe and festive Christmas.