Dayboro Refill Station to Close

Published 29 January 2020

The emergency water refill station set-up by Moreton Bay Regional Council at the Dayboro Showgrounds will be shut down at the end of this week.

Councillor Darren Grimwade (Div 11) said recent downpours had answered the prayers of locals, with next to no one needing the refill station any more.

“In the last fortnight we’ve only had around 10 people coming in needing an emergency refill of water,” he said.

“Most days no one is turning up to this manned facility, which is great, because it means we’ve had enough rain to fill local tanks.

“In fact in mid-January Dayboro and the surrounding areas received more rain in one week (195mm) than in the entire six months before that (142mm).

“We’ll keep the tanks in place until 5:00 PM Sunday 2 February for anyone who needs it, but with water trucking companies now on top of their orders there’s no more need for the emergency system.

“I want to thank my fellow Councillors for so swiftly responding to the situation in the west of our region and supporting the need for a water refill station.

“While we have escaped the devastating droughts other regions continue to endure, this dry spell is certainly a reminder for locals to keep an eye on water tank levels and ensure they stay topped-up.

“I hope this situation also serves as a wake up call to the state and federal governments that we need to be talking about long-term water and climate adaption.

“We’ve been lucky that Council’s intervention helped locals through this period, but an emergency water refill station is not and cannot be considered a long-term solution.

“I again have to congratulate everyone in the Dayboro area for restraint they’ve shown since Unitywater’s urgent water usage advice.

“Before Christmas locals were using around 200 litres per person per day, that’s now down to 140 litres per person per day – which is about the right level of water consumption as our dam levels headed towards 50 per cent capacity.

“They’re now around the 60 per cent mark, which is still low. So it’s great to see a community pull together like this.”

Since opening in September, Council’s water refill station provided more than four million litres of water to residents free of charge.

Water quantities issued from the Dayboro Public Water Station over the past week from January 21 – 27:

• Tues 21^ST  January = 0 Litres
• Wed 22^ND January = 0 Litres
• Thurs 23^RD January = 2,000 Litres
• Fri 24^TH January = 3,000 Litres
• Sat 25^TH January = 1,000 Litres
• Sun 26^TH January = 0 Litres
• Mon 27^TH January = 1,000 Litres