Brisbane Considers 1200 KM $7.5 Billion (AU) Pipeline

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THE state Government will look at building a $7.5 billion water pipeline from North Queensland to Brisbane in the next 50 to 100 years to cope with the future effects of climate change.
Emerging from a cabinet meeting tonight, Premier Peter Beattie said the Government would conduct a feasibility study into building a 1200km pipeline from Burdekin in the north to the state's water deprived southeast, incorporating existing regional pipelines and easements.

If the project gets the thumbs up, construction was expected to cost more than $7.5 billion and the running costs are likely to be more than $250 million a year. Mr Beattie said the pipeline was part of an overview of the state's water requirements over the next century and would essentially create a Queensland Water Grid, allowing water to be piped from excess dams into water-deprived areas.

"While it is economically unfeasible to pipe water from the state's north to the southeast in 2006, population growth and climate change may make such a pipeline not just cost effective but essential in another 50 to 100 years' time," Mr Beattie said.

As part of the study, the Queensland Co-ordinator General will investigate whether easements for gas pipelines, power transmission lines and road and rail corridors could be used for the two-way pipeline.

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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,19885259-5001028,00.html