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Business View Oceania - January/February 2017
tion of roads and it is the endeavour of
councils to make them more resilient
so that they are less susceptible to
damage and the high cost of recovery.
Assisting councils in this sphere is a vi-
tal part of the work that LGAQ does.
Local government in Queensland is
also responsible for the provision of
water supply and sewerage systems.
There are 77 councils but there are
close to 300 water supply and sew-
erage systems in the state. There
are many smaller communities within
council areas who have their own sys-
tems and these facilities are an essen-
tial service to any community. Councils
need to be in a position to maintain
and upgrade those facilities on a con-
tinuous basis.
There are new environmental require-
ments being added on the discharge of
effluent or the by-products of sewage
treatment into the water. It is the re-
sponsibility of councils to ensure that
the new environmental standards are
complied with and that the increas-
ing population’s requirements are ad-
equately provided for.
Councils need to meet these de-
mands by investing in new and re-
newed water supply and sewerage sys-
tems. It is a big challenge and one of
the most important areas of work that
LGAQ does on behalf of councils.