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General News

12 July, 2020

Chillagoe strikes water

Residents of Chillagoe can breathe a sigh of relief after the Mareeba Shire Council struck liquid gold after opening an underground water source 4km from the township.

By Rhys Thomas

Chillagoe strikes water - feature photo

Residents of Chillagoe can breathe a sigh of relief after the Mareeba Shire Council struck liquid gold after opening an underground water source 4km from the township.

The Chillagoe has been on Level 3 water restrictions since 2017 due to the low water table and council has been investigating alternative water sources ever since.

An existing reliable ground water source was identified approximately 6km west of Chillagoe in late 2019; further test bores were drilled 2km, 3km and 4km west of the town.

The bores were approved by council in an attempt to achieve savings associated with construction and operation of a shorter pipeline for the future supply.

Last month an exploratory bore was drilled 4km out of town and water testing was carried out to identify the quality and reliability of the underground supply.

The bore was constructed in May this year to a depth of 62 meters and water samples were taken for quality testing.

A Council Spokesperson said that while the initial results were promising there were still many tests that needed to be conducted.

“While the initial results are promising, further testing will need to be conducted at a higher discharge rate to verify the long-term performance of the supply,” he said.

“A 100-hour pumping and recovery test was conducted last month to ascertain its reliability and predict its future performance.

“The test confirmed that the bore can comfortably supply 10 litres per second, which is the maximum design capacity of the town’s water treatment plant.”

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