Water woes hit town's tourism, economy
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Soon the Queensland Government will start carting water to Cloncurry, as dam levels hit 2 per cent. (ABC News: Penny Timms)
It is feared that the north-west Queensland town of Cloncurry will soon run out of water, thanks to dry weather and a resources-driven population boom.
The available water is said to be so harsh it could strip the paint from a car.
The local council says the water problem is holding up development in one of the world's most mineral-rich regions.
Down the road at Dajarra, there are also concerns about the quality of drinking water.
Dajarra is a town of about 120 people that has always struggled to quench its thirst for good drinking water.
Rhyno Ryan runs the pub in the small community south of Mount Isa.
"The only good thing about this water is your can save on hairdressing products because once you set your hair and she dries, that's where she stays for the day," he said.
Like rural residents across Australia, some Dajarra households have rainwater tanks. But dry weather has left them all but empty. So residents are heavily reliant on treated bore water.
"It's very salty, it corrodes everything, it blocks things up, it blocks your toilet up," Mr Ryan said.
"Eventually you have to chisel out the back where they flush down from the bottom drain.
"Dries your skin out something chronic, and I'm a pretty big boy and hide like a rhino, but it dries my skin out, and [you] get little rashes."
Tourists driven out
The water problem is driving tourists from the one-time thriving pastoral centre.
"It's not good that you're getting rashes, I have people who come and stay a couple of days here and after two days they're starting to get a rash, it just drives them right out," Mr Ryan said.
At Dajarra's local roadhouse, Adrian Cooney has seen it all before.
"When I first came here there wasn't much water at all really," he said.
"We'd used to run out of water and I'd run out of customers in the motel every now and then, which would stir me up a bit."
However, things could soon get easier for Adrian Cooney, Rhyno Ryan and the other 120 or so residents of Dajarra.
The shire council is going to install four big tanks to collect what rainwater is available.
But north-east of Dajarra, the council is facing bigger problems in the shire's main township of Cloncurry.
Cloncurry is expected to run out of water within months.
The dry weather, together with a doubling of the population in recent years, has reduced the local dam to 2 per cent capacity.
Water carting
With Cloncurry home to some of Queensland's most valuable mineral resources, Premier Anna Bligh has announced a taxpayer funded rescue.
"I am pleased to advise that the Cabinet Budget Review Committee has approved funding towards the cartage of water under the Urban Drought Water Program at an expected cost of $400,000 a month," Ms Bligh said.
"We anticipate that this could be needed anywhere from four to six months."
It is understood the Cloncurry Council will pay one quarter of the cost of carting water, probably from a mine site in the region.
But the news has received a lukewarm welcome.
Mining companies have not been able to build accommodation for their burgeoning workforces because of the water problems.
Mayor Andrew Daniels wants much more money for a permanent pipeline.
"Premier Bligh has said that, you know, this is a first step," he said.
"Well she'll realise that it is only the first step because we're not going to lay down now until we get the whole solution fixed up."
Adapted from a report by Annie Guest which first aired on AM
