The Queensland Government has convened a high-level roundtable to examine ways to tackle the cost of providing drinking water to Mount Isa and the north-west.
Hosted in Mount Isa by the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water on Wednesday 31 July, the roundtable looked at water management and the existing water supply arrangements in place between Mount Isa, Cloncurry and north-west communities.
Mount Isa City Council, Cloncurry Shire Council, the Mount Isa Water Board, Sunwater and the Member for Traeger were invited to attend the roundtable.
Queensland Minister for Water, Glenn Butcher, said, “When I met the new Mayor of Mount Isa recently, I committed to organising a roundtable, to bring together key stakeholders to look at ways we can work together to tackle water prices in Mount Isa and the north-west.
“I’m open to considering ideas to further help Mount Isa and north-west residents with the cost of water,” Mr Butcher said.
“Queensland Labor has rolled-out around $5 million for north-west water projects, that is money Councils don’t have to pass on to their ratepayers as rates or water charges.”
The 2024–25 Queensland State Budget included $7.9 million to improve Mount Isa Water Board’s (MIWB) water infrastructure, including electricity upgrades at Lake Julius and renewing the Fred Haigh Pump Station.
The State Government also said it continues to support north-west Councils with water infrastructure, with $5 million provided through Building our Regions for nine projects.
This includes Cloncurry Shire Council’s Electro Chlorination Project and planning work for Mount Isa City Council’s sewer system to the Ryan Road industrial area and the Camooweal Water Treatment Plant.
The MIWB is responsible for supplying bulk water to industrial customers and drinking water to Mount Isa City Council and is the trustee for Lake Moondarra. A total of 50 per cent of dividends and tax equivalent payments from MIWB are returned to Mount Isa City Council each year. In 2022–23, Council received $2.8 million in dividends through this arrangement.
Mount Isa’s drinking water primarily comes from Lake Moondarra, with access to water from Lake Julius when storage levels at Lake Moondarra are low.
The State Government delivered a 38km pipeline that supports Cloncurry’s drinking water supply in 2010. As part of the package to deliver the pipeline, which is a branch of the 110km North West Queensland Water Pipeline from Ernest Henry Mine, the Queensland Government subsidises the cost of drinking water to the Cloncurry community, this subsidy totalled $7 million in 2024–25.
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