“But, despite this, businesses, hoteliers and residents continue to use sprinklers on their lawns and openly disregard water restrictions.

“Technical observations suggest 75 per cent of water is lost on lawns and gardens in Douglas Shire which equates to about 150ml per month,” it said.

Council said water restrictions are put in place to effectively manage water supplies and prepare the region for possible prolonged dry spells.

“Douglas Shire has the highest water consumption per capita out of all council areas in Far North Queensland. And this places pressure on Council’s water supplies and reinforces the need to have restrictions in place.”

In response to why the shire did not benefit from the near 600mm of rainfall from March’s deluge, Council said the shire is in a unique situation as it has no dams, and water supplies are stored solely in reservoirs.

“Council has directed significant resources into water security to future-proof the region’s water supply for future generations. 

“The problems experienced during the one- in-100-year rainfall event in March are expected during heavy rainfall events.

“Heavy rain can cause high volumes of water containing silt, sand and vegetation to block the intakes and stop a full flow of water to the treatment plant. Council has plans to implement changes to the intakes to reduce this issue.”

In the final week of March this year, in the 24-hour period from 9am Sunday until Monday morning, Port Douglas received 593mm of rainfall, which was the highest in the state. But, this was far off from the devastating cyclone on March 16, 1911 when 800.9mm of rain was dumped on the region.

Port Douglas and Mossman residents and businesses currently rely on flows from Rex Creek above Mossman Gorge for their water supply, but the amount available at the intake is limited by extraction limits and river flows. According to Council, the Rex Creek intake level is below average and steadily dropping.

Council also revealed that the much-awaited $13.5 million, 20-mega litre reservoir, which would double local water supply storage capacity to meet the future needs of Port Douglas and Craiglie, is about six weeks away from being fully operational. It is located on Crees Road.

The reservoir project was expected to reach “practical completion in early 2018”. It is estimated that the reservoir will be able to service up to 7,000 people per day in peak periods.

“The Contractor is anticipated to complete works by the end of August. At this stage, electrical, mechanical and telemetry commissioning activities will be required, followed by operational works on chlorination, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), valves and sensors.

“The major remaining tasks include flushing, testing and disinfection of the new pipework and reservoir and electrical connection in conjunction with Ergon Energy,” the statement said.

For more information visit www.douglas.qld.gov.au/urgent-water-supplies-reach-critical-levels-douglas-shire/

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

* Readers are encouraged to use their full details below to ensure comment legitimacy. Comments are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport or its staff. Comments containing unlawful, obscene, defamatory, personal or abusive material will not be published.