The dam is handed over to Chinese bottled water companies and the Australian city runs dry

    The dam is handed over to Chinese bottled water companies and the Australian city runs dry

    A Chinese company has obtained clearance in Queensland to extract water for bottling, leaving a town with no water reserves

    An Australian city already hit by drought and fires has completely exhausted the water reserves after a Chinese company was allowed to draw water in the region a few weeks ago.





    Last December, the Southern Downs regional council approved the development plan for the Joyful View, allowing the company to withdraw 96 million liters of water per year in southern Queensland to be bottled.

    Level: critical.

    Just arrived in Stanthorpe in the Southern Downs – a town that is two weeks away from running out of urban water supply. Spending some time out here to find out what Christmas is looking like for a town with no water. #drought #auspol #stanthorpe pic.twitter.com/37ycsW3tDu

    — Senator Nita Green (@nitagreenqld) December 6, 2019

    Even before the authorization, the residents of the neighboring towns Warwick and Stanthorpe had access to water with restrictions, which have become even more extreme since the day after the agreement: the water available per person has dropped to just 80 liters per day, a quantity four times less than what is needed.

    Emergency Water Restrictions come into effect Thursday 19 December at 8am. These water restrictions apply to all areas…

    Posted by Southern Downs Regional Council on Tuesday, December 17, 2019

    The regional council had promised citizens that they would not run out of water. In fact, despite the limitations, Stanthorpe, a town in southeastern Queensland, ran out of water supplies and now it completely depends on 42 trucks carrying water to residents every day from a dam 60km away.

    Part of my family come from #Stanthorpe. I used to go there almost every weekend once upon a time. Beautiful friendly people. Great cafes, wineries, country walks. They now have no water. NO WATER. Please visit them if you can. #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/iDlYS16nwR



    — DJ ?? (@thedjcronin) January 14, 2020

    The dam that supplied the 5.000 residents has dropped to 11% of its capacity and the little water left will be used for any emergencies.

    The situation is very serious both because people do not have enough water for their needs and because there is a lack of water for production activities, including farms. Many cattle, horses and other animals suffer from hunger and thirst because they have neither water nor hay available.
    There are so many farmers and ranchers desperate to get to steal the water from each other: a farmer already in difficulty was robbed by his neighbor, who stole 70 thousand liters of drinking water from the tanks.

    Despite the import of water, the restriction of 80 liters per person will remain in effect, and in all likelihood, even citizens of other cities will run out of water in the short term.

    In addition, the water from Warwick, which is also used to support Stanthorpe, could run out by the end of this year if no significant rainfall occurs.


    Read also:

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