Government’s need to fact check on water

TasWater Chairman Miles Hampton says the State Government needs to check its facts when making claims about Tasmania’s water quality and services.
Mr Hampton said today Premier Will Hodgman and Treasurer Peter Gutwein made a series of error-filled claims about water and sewerage services in the Derwent Valley and beyond.
Contrary to the Government’s claims of towns being on boiled water alerts for at least eight years, Fentonbury, Westerway and National Park have been boil water alert only since September 2016. Wayatinah was put on an alert in May 2012 following TasWater’s assessment.
“It is also a bit of a stretch to include Gormanston in the Derwent Valley,” Mr Hampton said.
“In any event, all these systems will be resolved by August 2018 under TasWater’s current funded plan without any Government intervention, with the completion conveniently timed so that the Government can take credit should its takeover be successful.
“The Government’s claims on sewerage outflows are similarly misleading and do not compare like with like.”
Mr Hampton said neither the Premier Will Hodgman nor Treasurer Peter Gutwein had shown any interest in resolving previous water and sewerage issues in the Derwent Valley prior to the politically inspired takeover of TasWater.
“They never attended any community meetings and have never offered any solutions.
“We had some nine meetings with the Government over the past three years and it never expressed dissatisfaction with TasWater’s rate of progress in upgrading the State’s diverse water and sewerage infrastructure.
“More specifically, when we asked the Treasurer for help in removing the boil water alerts in small towns he declined, saying he was happy for them to go onto tank water. Similarly, no assistance was forthcoming for our 10-year plan,” Mr Hampton said.
“There is no crisis and all the boiled water and do not consume alerts will be removed by mid next year. Neither the environmental, health or regulatory authorities have ever raised any issue or made any suggestion of crisis.”
Mr Hampton said TasWater had a responsible, affordable and fully-funded 10-year plan to upgrade water and sewerage infrastructure. In contrast, the Treasurer’s plan would saddle every Tasmanian household with an additional $3000 in debt that will have to be paid.
Mr Hampton said the Government’s claiming of a crisis and announcements of 11th-hour so-called solutions for the Derwent Valley, or any other part of Tasmania, is disingenuous and is more about politics and electioneering than any real desire to upgrade the State’s water and sewerage infrastructure or to reduce costs for households.”
TasWater