SIRA News: Report on water and wastewater forum

.#Water and wastewater forum: water security in the face of scarcity

A lively public discussion with a positive outcome

What happened at the forum?

A public forum on 18 August was held in the Scotland Island Community Hall to discuss what we as a community can do to achieve progress on the goal of getting mains water and sewerage on the island. Over 40 people attended and offered ideas for strategies we could implement.

Basil Daher, Team Leader of SIRA’s Water and Wastewater Subcommittee, presented a brief history of the efforts made to secure mains water and sewerage as well as the broken promises of the past. View the Water and Wastewater presentation. An open discussion followed.

What was the outcome of the forum?

The open discussion resulted in many excellent ideas, as well as an exchange of information. These suggestions and comments are reproduced below. For more information, you can also read the minutes of the meeting.  

The outcome was that engaged volunteers with a range of areas of expertise signed up to a bounded (limited in time) project group which will decide on a practical plan of action and implement it. Basil Daher will represent SIRA in this project group. Are you interested in joining? Please contact basil-abbott@hotmail.com.

Suggestions and comments made at the forum:

• Public protest and more advocacy with state candidates for next election. Replicate the Martens’ Study.
• Find out what the situation is with other villages provided with mains water/wastewater. Have others paid per user to get water/waste? If not, how can they charge us?
• Lobby politicians at State level – go to the top to decision-makers.
• Could SIRA put together a ‘standard’ letter that the residents could inundate the politicians with to rile them up?
• Argument is that tank water has many contaminants naturally and emergency water is ‘non-potable’ – so we have no access to safe drinking water.
• Take health issues to rule-makers and enforcers
• Establish an SI team of volunteers to progress the project for a contained time.
• We should challenge the items of legislation that have allowed Sydney Water to escape from providing services to SI and other areas.
• Health implications should be updated with new samples/stats.
• Samples, sickness certificates (public health unit notification), get private company to sample water.