Council is calling on the community to continue sticking to medium-level water restrictions as repairs start on the damaged supply pipeline for Council's Northern Water Treatment Plant.
The pipeline was damaged by landslips caused by the recent weather event, during which the area received more than 2,300mm of rain across 16 days. The damage is significant and means the Northern Water Treatment Plant will be offline until repairs are finalised, with all water use across the city coming from the Douglas Water Treatment Plant.
Repairs are expected to take between 4-6 weeks, pending repair to access roads, weather and conditions.
Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said residents had been doing a great job reducing their water use since medium-level restrictions had been brought into place in November and urged the community to continue its efforts during the coming weeks.
"Townsville residents know how important responsible water use is for our city and I'm very proud to say that our community has done very well adhering to medium-level water levels during the past four months," Cr Greaney said.
"These restrictions were originally brought into place in response to a sharp increase in blue-green algae last year, which thankfully has reduced following the recent rain event. Unfortunately that same rain event has caused damage to a critical supply pipeline that provides water to the Northern Water Treatment Plant.
"We need residents to continue following medium-level restrictions while Council repairs the pipeline and continues to supply safe and clean drinking water to the Townsville community from the Douglas Water Treatment Plant.The whole community benefits from our collective efforts when we work together during this recovery period."
Council is continuing to reduce its water usage by 3.5ML daily through adjustments to irrigation systems.
Medium-level water restrictions include:
- Sprinkler use: 5–7am or 6–8pm on odds-and-evens days.
- Handheld watering anytime.
- Vehicle and boat washing with a bucket.
- Hard surface cleaning with pressure washers only.
- Businesses with high water use, like nurseries, should avoid watering between 9am–4pm and use water-efficient systems outside those hours.
Visit our Water Restrictions
