RESIDENTS of Home Hill have a more secure water supply in the town following the official opening in June of the town’s 5ML Reservoir – a permanent long-term treated water storage jointly funded by the Queensland Government and the Burdekin Shire Council.
Assistant Minister for Local Government, Nikki Boyd MP travelled to Home Hill for the opening ceremony and described the resilience provided by the new infra- structure as vital in the event of an emergency.
“It is fantastic to be here to officially open the Reservoir and provide greater water security to the residents of Home Hill, thanks to the joint efforts of the Queensland Government and Burdekin Shire Council,” Ms Boyd said. “Home Hill was previously serviced by a 0.39ML water tower which, in the event of an emergency, potentially only had capacity to provide 20 minutes of potable water to residents.
“The opening of the 5ML Home Hill Reservoir drastically increases this storage capacity so that, in the event of bore-field breakdown or delivery failure, residents will have no loss of water as Council rectifies any issues.
“The 5ML Home Hill Reservoir was made possible with $1.99 million from the Queensland Government’s Local Government Grants and Subsidies Program funding 60 per cent of the project, with Council contributing the other 40 per cent.” Mayor Lyn McLaughlin said resilient infrastructure and long-term water security were key priorities of Council.
“A key action of Council’s Corporate Plan is to enhance water security and I want to thank the State Government for recognising the importance of this project for Home Hill and significantly enhancing the resilience of the township’s water supply,” she said. “As a small Council, projects of this magnitude would take many years to budget and plan for, however with the sup- port, we were able to deliver this project much sooner.”