Massive storage beneath our streets

With water restrictions the big talking point in Gosford at the moment and council about to spend $8.2 million on the Woy Woy bore field (Peninsula News, May 29), it seems incredible that council is considering the hiring of portable desalination plants.

From the amount of water that is currently being pumped out of the ground water on the Peninsula, it would seem logical to spend the money on permanent micro filtration plants on some or all the 18 bores that council have installed across the Peninsula.

Australian companies are leading the world in micro filtration technologies.

Some of the bores have quality water that could be cheaply cleaned, filtered and put back into the existing system.

Last year council called a halt to the construction of kerb and guttering so that "water sensitive urban design" principles could be developed to recharge the ground water supply.

Plumbing the streets with kerb and guttering is both unnecessary and dangerous in times of flood, as it transfers the water more quickly into rapidly rising creeks, thus increasing flood risk on the low-lying Peninsula.

The Federal Government has near $2 billion on offer, in the Australian Water Fund, to councils who offer innovative water solutions for their communities.

Gosford Council must act now to stop developers putting in inappropriate guttering in isolated developments and get serious about the massive storage capacity that lies beneath our streets.

I would be interested to hear from residents who have bores and get reasonable quality water from them.

Having worked on many sites across the Peninsula over the past 15 years, I can remember some of the bore water was very good, good enough to drink.

Please ring me on 4342 2251.

Bryan Ellis Umina