Changing community attitudes to potable re-use in South-East Queensland

The climate of Australia is characterised by extremes. Record floods interr upt record droughts at irregular intervals so that water is unevenly distri buted. The traditional way of managing water resources by dam storages is n o longer acceptable. Community consultation in SE Queensland has shown that a majority of people object to the disposal of sewage effluent into our en vironmentally sensitive waterways and favour reuse. The concept of potable re-use has largely been community driven and is now being seriously conside red. An on-going information and awareness program is being implemented. Th e Queensland State Government is forming a Water Re-use Strategy and a poli cy on potable re-use, the support for which is increasing. (C) 1999 Publish ed by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of the IAWQ. All rights reserved.