Water security for Ingham, Lower Herbert and Forrest Beach has been improved thanks to funding from the Palaszczuk Government’s Building Our Regions (BoR) program.
Hinchinbrook Shire Council received $2 million from Round 3 of the BoR program for the $4.4 million upgrade to the Ingham Depot Water Treatment Plant, a project that supported 13 jobs.
Officially opening the plant as part of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Water Week, Minister for Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water, Glenn Butcher, said the upgrades were a valuable piece of work for water security for more than 12,000 people living in these communities.
“This work has improved capacity for treating drinking water for these communities and improved the water security for the people living in these areas,” Mr Butcher said.
“Water treatment and wastewater treatment are important services, especially in regional Queensland and that’s why we’ve made it the focus of the recently opened $70 million Round 6.
“This is an opportunity for our local councils to get some major works done on their water and sewerage infrastructure, with funding of up to $2 million available for projects.”
Hinchinbrook Mayor Ramon Jayo said the funds through the Building our Regions grant had been vital for the project’s success.
“As a community, water security is a high priority for us and ensuring our supply is sufficient for future needs in years to come is, understandably, key.
“Building our Regions funding enabled us to get a major piece of infrastructure work completed quickly and efficiently,” he said.
Completed works at Ingham Depot include construction of a new treated water reservoir, a new aerator as well as installation of new high-lift pumps.
The Ingham Depot Water Treatment Plant supplements the region’s bore water supply by treating water from the Herbert River.
A new raw water production bore was also constructed along with a new raw water pipeline and new treated water pipeline to supply an additional 2.2 megalitres a day.
The existing infrastructure will be augmented to supply an additional 2.6 megalitres a day.
Increased treatment and storage capacity as well and interconnecting the Ingham, Lower Herbert and Forrest Beach water supply schemes will ensure the security of water supply and water quality in the area for years to come.
