By Cr Jason Colley, Division 9 – Capalaba | Sheldon | Thornlands
WHEN I linked a series of water issues reported to me by Capalaba residents during last year’s election campaign, I had no idea how big the issue would become.
After I requested the incidents be examined as one – rather than as isolated complaints – Seqwater and Redland City Council’s City Water team began their investigation.
A year and a half later, we now better understand the scale of the problem and its potential causes, but residents are still left with a sub-standard service.
My focus has primarily been on properties where water cuts off mid-use, but there have also been many reports of low water pressure.
These have all been referred to the team, which is continuing joint field investigations to identify issues and propose solutions.
Unfortunately, the investigations so far show the problem is far wider than first thought. More properties are impacted, and in some cases, the problem has been present for decades.
One resident told me her water has cut out mid-use for more than 30 years.
That’s unacceptable.
It isn’t fair that Capalaba residents are expected to continue paying for a service they are not receiving.
Mums and dads shouldn’t have to wait an hour to fill the bath for their kids.
Nor should residents have the water cut out for 30 seconds or longer when they’re taking a shower.
I am continuing to work with the teams to deliver a solution, but fixing complex water infrastructure isn’t easy.
The Capalaba Water Treatment Plant is nearly 60 years old, and the way water has been transferred to residents since then has changed considerably.
As the local population has grown, new infrastructure has been added to the network. If we were starting over, we would build it very differently.
Aging infrastructure is a challenge facing local governments right across Australia. Our terrain isn’t flat, which means pipelines transporting water from Alexandra Hills reservoirs to Capalaba and into homes are at varying heights.
Some areas rely on gravity flow, while others require booster pumps. Even simple fixes aren’t simple.
Capalaba residents have already put up with this for too long. Work being done by Seqwater and City Water has been commendable, but it should never have been allowed to get to this point.
While authorities investigate, I’ll continue applying pressure of my own to ensure this community receives the service they’re paying for.
