State-funded $150,000 upgrade to improve water reliability for Goondiwindi residents

Goondiwindi Regional Council has allocated $150,000 of State Government funding to improve the reliability and sustainability of its water services to residents in Goondiwindi.

Work finished this week to upgrade water mains in MacIntyre Street (from McLean Street to Delacy Street) and Pratten Street (from Bowen Street to MacIntyre Street) in Goondiwindi. The upgrades mean improved town water services for residents in those streets, with households in the surrounding area also set to benefit indirectly from the work.

Council allocated funding for the project from the $1,350,000 it received through the State Government's 2020-21 COVID Works for Queensland (W4Q) program. Councillor Rick Kearney, who holds Council’s Portfolio for Water, Sewerage and Local Laws, said the W4Q funding would complement the $500,000 that Council spends on replacing and upgrading water mains across the Goondiwindi region each year.

“The repair and renewal of our region’s water infrastructure is a huge priority for Council," Cr Kearney said. “Council owns about $67 million [as at 30 June 2020] worth of water supply assets across the region, including 186 kilometres of water mains.

“Many of these are now aging and will require significant ongoing investment in future years for their renewal,” he said. “So this is an excellent opportunity to invest State Government dollars in our region’s public infrastructure and ensure greater reliability of Council’s water services to Goondiwindi households.”

The maintenance of the Goondiwindi region’s water supply assets is guided by Council's Water Supply Services Asset Management Plan, which ensures the region’s infrastructure meets the required level of service in the most cost-effective manner to the ratepayer.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said Council has dedicated more than $860,000 of its 2020-21 W4Q funding towards projects that will improve water services for residents and businesses on town water connections.

“Our public services are, and always will be, the first order of business for this Council,” Cr Springborg said. “Ensuring our infrastructure is up-to-date and sustainable is key to providing the quality of services that our residents expect, which is why we’ve prioritised the renewal and maintenance of existing infrastructure in the region for this funding.

“Due to external funding opportunities such as the W4Q program, less than half of Council's total operational expenditure for this year will be from rates,” he said. “We will continue to chase down every dollar of external funding to increase the return on investment for all ratepayers in the Goondiwindi region.”

The project will complement Council’s recent replacement of the water mains at Winton and Chalmers Streets, also funded by W4Q, as well as an upcoming project in which Council will work together and share costs with a local developer to extend access to the town water supply out from Anderson Street to Old Kildonan Road.

Residents are reminded that they can sign up to Council's free SMS alert service to receive notifications about emergency water interruptions via text. Existing notification methods for planned interruptions will continue, but the SMS service provides an additional communication channel for unplanned incidents. For more information about the service or to sign up for free, visit: www.grc.qld.gov.au/SMS