MOUNT Morgan residents will not be left without access to water after Rockhampton Regional Council reaffirmed their support, as the town's No.7 Dam reaches 11.2 per cent.
Level 5 Water Restrictions were implemented in Mount Morgan from December last year, following the news that the No. 7 Dam had fallen to 15 per cent capacity.
Despite Mount Morgan having a sufficient water supply for another three to six months, the Rockhampton Regional Council and Fitzroy River Water are now trialing trucking water to the town.
Rockhampton's Mayor, Tony Williams, assured Mount Morgan residents his council will not leave them without access to water.
"This issue is incredibly important, and I know that it has been a real worry in the Mount Morgan community given the lack of rain over the past 12 months," Cr Williams said.
"There is around 280 ML remaining in the dam, and this will provide water for another three to six months even if there is no rain at all.
"However we want to make sure that we can provide water to the Mount Morgan community from another source if this becomes necessary in the future.
"That's why this week we will start to trial trucking water from Gracemere up to Mount Morgan."
Cr Williams said they will also be holding a public meeting in the coming weeks to provide information on the trial and to talk about long term water security options for the town.
Water and Supporting a Better Environment Councillor, Donna Kirkland, said the trial would allow Council and Fitzroy River Water to fine tune the process.
"We definitely aren't at the stage of needing to truck water up yet," Cr Kirkland said.
"However this trial will allow us to do things like check the logistics, make sure the tankers can be loaded and unloaded correctly, and time how long the process takes.
"This means if we do get to the point where we need to truck water up in future there will be a continuous supply to residents."
Cr Kirkland said water will be taken directly to the Mount Morgan Water Treatment Plant and will then be distributed to homes as normal.
"We are also continuing to explore the feasibility of other options for improving the long term water security in Mount Morgan," she said.
"These include a new dam site at the Nine Mile Creek, a pipeline from Gracemere to Mount Morgan, treating the mine-pit water, increasing the capacity of the dam, excavating Fletcher Creek and a pumped hydro scheme initiative."
Divisional Councillor Cherie Rutherford said she understood the anxieties about water in Mount Morgan.
"We've all watched as the No.7 Dam has continued to drop over the last 12 months, and been disappointed as the rain we really hoped for just hasn't come," Cr Rutherford said.
"I want to emphasise that the Mount Morgan community is a valued part of the Rockhampton Region, and there is no scenario in which we would allow residents to be left without water."
- For more Mount Morgan water related information visit: www.rrc.qld.gov.au/mountmorganwater.