The construction of a 41 megalitre facility is underway and is set to be built alongside Townsville’s biggest reservoir on the hill slopes of Douglas.
The new $9.7 million facility could present opportunities for apprenticeships in Townsville, with a new six megalitre reservoir at Mt Low – which is nearing completion – also under construction.
These initiatives are a part of the Townsville City Council’s integrated water strategy which will provide the city with a maximum combined storage of 250 megalitres of drinking water in 33 reservoirs.
“The increased water storage is essential for Townsville’s expansion as well as protecting the city from shortages in the aftermath of major weather events when services can suffer significant disruption,” said Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill.
Ms Hill said that an additional 41 megalitre reservoir could prove critical in a cyclone if the Douglas Water Treatment Plant goes offline, as was the case after Cyclone Yasi.
This saw power lost for over 30 hours, Ms Hill said, and the water reserves in the city’s reservoirs only “barely” got the city through.
Foundations for the facility have been completed with steelwork construction starting this week.
