27 May 2020
A new recycled water plant at the Warwick Saleyards will drought-proof its truck wash after Southern Downs Regional Council secured $500K from the Queensland Government’s Building our Regions (BoR) program.
The new recycled water plant will help preserve the region’s precious water and Council expects that the plant will reduce the truck wash’s town water consumption by up to 70 percent.
Southern Downs Regional Council Mayor Vic Pennisi thanked the Queensland Government for its support and said the project signalled a sustainable and viable future for the region’s only public truck wash.
“The Warwick Saleyards is an essential and vital service for the livestock industry in our region, and the truck wash was sorely missed when it was forced to close temporarily in March 2019 due to ongoing drought,” Mayor Pennisi said.
“The livestock transport industry is bound by strict Australian bio-security standards which require operators to routinely wash their trucks to remove animal waste. The closure of the truck wash meant many truck operators had to travel long distances outside of the region to meet these requirements.
“No longer reliant solely on town water and at the mercy of water restrictions, the new recycled water plant will ensure the truck wash can operate long term and during drought times. This will also ensure that the Warwick Saleyards remains financially sustainable and reduce financial pressure on ratepayers.
“The recycled water plant provides water security for the truck wash and financial stability for the saleyards, and it is fantastic to see this project come to fruition.
“Waste water will be collected, treated and recycled at the saleyards to wash heavy vehicles, effectively creating a closed loop system that will require very little additional water and remove the dependency on treated town water which is a scare resource in times of drought.”
State Development Minister Kate Jones said the government was proud to be partnering with councils and the private sector to deliver projects that create jobs.
“We are facing one of the most difficult times in our State’s history. But we know that to fast-track Queensland’s economic recovery, we need to invest in job-creating projects in regional Queensland,” she said.
“This program will not only create hundreds of construction jobs across the regions, it will create more employment opportunities for locals, helping small businesses in these communities and boosting industry supply chains.”
BoR Round 5 focuses on construction and planning projects that will create and sustain long-term employment in regional Queensland.
Under previous BoR funding rounds, almost $295M has been allocated to 223 projects across 66 local government areas in regional Queensland.
This work has supported more than 2400 jobs and attracted additional investment of $487M from councils and other organisations.