Update #3: All Townsville and Magnetic Island restricted to emergency water use only
Date published: 12 December 2020
UPDATE #3 (0830hrs 12 December)
Townsville and Magnetic Island residents and business owners must immediately restrict water consumption to emergency use only (drinking water and toilets).
This means turning off your irrigation and no handheld watering, no showers, no washing clothes or dishes, filling up pools, or washing vehicles or boats.
Council continues to work to repair a ruptured 1.3 metre diameter pipe which supplies the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, the city’s primary water treatment facility, and bring the city’s water network back to full capacity.
Emergency water use only will help maintain basic supply for everyone and help Council restore full supply to the city sooner.
Council officers and staff from external contractors BMD, NQ Excavations and CivilPlus have made good progress in replacing the ruptured pipe overnight. Council thanks these contractors for their support.
The ruptured pipe has been removed and work is now underway to install the new section of pipe.
It is expected to take at least 24 hours to fully re-charge the water system once the pipe is repaired and pumping has recommenced.
During this time, some parts of the Townsville may experience issues with water supply. The city’s water reserves are critically low and being further depleted.
A further assessment of the repair work will be conducted around 12pm and an update provided to the community around 1pm.
Residents and business owners should monitor Townsville City Council’s Disaster Dashboard for latest information and updates.
