Townsville is officially off water restrictions after works to fix the northern pipeline supplying Townsville with 15 per cent of its daily water usage was recommissioned last week.
Works to remediate access to the northern pipeline, along with its repair, were jointly funded through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and undertaken by local contractor CivilPlus.
Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said work to reinstate the critical piece of infrastructure had been underway since March.
"With more than 6,000 tonnes of landslide debris moved, 85 metres of road rebuilt and a critical pipeline repaired, the scale of this project off the back of the record-breaking weather event at the beginning of the year was simply massive," Cr Greaney said.
"I am pleased to announce that Townsville is officially no longer on medium-level water restrictions.
"The community assisted Council through the focus on conserving our precious water resources during this time and Council extends it thanks."
Cr Greaney said while much of the time was spent moving landslide debris off the seven-kilometre access trail to allow crews access to the pipeline, Council had to bring in a specialist dive team to recommission the intake structure that feeds the gravity-fed pipeline.
"This project has had a lot of moving parts. Initial estimates were we'd be able to have the pipeline back in action in four to six weeks, however due to the sheer scale of the landslides and damage to the access road, the project proved to be more complex and time consuming," she said.
"We've had terrific contractors on the job, allowing our crews to focus on the more than 6,700 emergency works orders from the record-breaking weather event around our city.
"The water intake structure seven kilometres up in the Paluma range had more than 100 tonnes of sand and debris clogging it, which was a serious operation in itself to get back online, but the dive team and Trility got in and got the job done."
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said the restoration of Townsville's northern pipeline is welcome and positive news for the affected region.
"I want to recognise the great amount of effort from all parties that has gone into this complex project so that the residents of Townsville can comfortably manage their water usage," Minister McBain said.
"Through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, the Albanese Government welcomes the partnership with Queensland and the Townsville City Council to deliver the restoration of the northern pipeline.
"I want to commend the resilience of the affected community members and their ability to support each other during this period on top their patience as they wait for their water supply to be secured once again."
Queensland Minister for Disaster Recovery Ann Leahy said the project was absolutely vital for the Townsville community.
"This project was a massive undertaking, made possible with the commitment of the local community and the dedication of council," Minister Leahy said.
"The Crisafulli Government will always back Queensland's councils, and this project is a testament to what we can achieve when all levels of government work together."
Division one councillor Paul Jacob said while the northern pipeline, which provides much of the northern suburbs of Townsville with its daily water was now back online, Townsville's water use shouldn't increase dramatically due to the cooler winter months.
"We typically see a drop in water consumption during the cooler months as people's lawns go into dormancy and don't grow as much," Cr Jacob said.
"While the recommissioning of this northern pipeline takes us off medium-level water restrictions, we urge the community to remember that we do live in the dry tropics and to continue being water wise.
"Council encourages water conservation measures year-round, given 70 per cent of our city's water usage is used outdoors on lawns and gardens, it's important we are using this precious resource efficiently."
