Small things done now will be disproportionately important in decades to come.

NEXT MEETING   7pm Thursday 16th August at Sunnybank Hills library     
Level 2 Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown
Cnr. Calam Rd. and  Compton Rd.  Sunnybank Hills

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The House of Brisbane is in crisis and its children are looking for direction. In these moments we expect courage, considered wisdom and moral fibre from the adults in control.  Unfortunately a case exists where the owners of the house have no idea and have fallen back on advice from the hired help. Desperate to keep their jobs, the Sir Humphreys have convinced the head of the house that draining the bird-bath will save the garden.

Brisbane City Council have plans to exhaust Karawatha Lake of water to the depth of a five story building and are claiming that this is an important part of their commitment to the Regional Drought Strategy. With construction of a pipeline to begin in the next few months, the Lord Mayor as head of the household is quoted in The Reporter (25.07.07) as saying “The planned water extraction will be done under a regime that is both sustainable and adaptable and consistent with protecting the environmental values of the site.”

Let us look at this statement.  We have not seen any published Environmental Impact Statements for the pipeline, the pumping station, the effect of fifty truck movements a day, removal of this quantity of water on the site itself or the extent and positioning of local aquifers. In fact, based on a premise contrary to all our anecdotal evidence of how the lake was formed, the hired help claim that this arose from overland flow.  They assert that a perfectly functional quarry was suddenly abandoned with no attempt to man the pumps when approximately a million litres of clean water found its way down from a sandstone ridge.  This position would abregate Council’s responsibility to consider an alternative proposal, such as a breach in the aquifer which was manfully resisted for two days and finally walked away from with the abandonment of several pieces of heavy equipment. Thus, they have no need to look at aquifer connections since there are none.

The curious fact is that the only monitoring site we have seen proposed is quite some distance from the lake and relies on the aquifer response for its efficacy. Coupled with this, the possible control site given to us was Carbrook Wetlands in the south-east of Logan City, on different geology, with different human impacts and different biota.  We have a sub-coastal wet heath with two internationally-listed rare and endangered frog species, yet at the time of our recent meeting with the hired help no consultation had taken place with Dr Hero, the frog expert recognized by Council.

The claim in the newspaper article is that the water will be used for Council work involving construction, dust suppression and irrigation and will not be piped into the local water supply.  The fact is that it is available for $8.90 a 10,000 litre truckload to anyone who can haul it away. There is no tracking of the end use and a few truckers are currently making a financial killing selling water of less quality for uses such as yard watering. Meanwhile, as one example of an alternative, the mining industry have perfectly good dust suppression techniques which save water and are not being imposed in Brisbane. To some critics, developers and contractors now become easy targets. However, as one developer said to me, ‘We are all just naughty puppies. If you let us go we will mess on your floor and jump on your bed.” What decent developers and the community both need is a direction and commitment which is born of courage, wisdom and ethical standards.

Does the Society have to take matters into its own hands? At such a cheap price, perhaps we start a fund to buy the water and keep it in the Forest in case an emergency drinking supply is needed.  What will be the backlash if we are down to our last drinking water and Brisbane’s citizens realize where their lake went? Our great fear is that history will say that when the blowtorch of bureaucracy was applied, those in charge went to water.  However, it could be worse.  As Spike Milligan said, “One day the don’t knows will get in and then where will we be?”

MEMBERSHIPS DUE
Please note that memberships are due on 1st  September. The Society continues to make headway with many issues affecting the Forest and its connectivity, but this is only possible if we have solid support from the community in the form of financial memberships. Please don’t forget to fill out the membership form and send it in as soon as possible. It is all too easy to put it aside for another day and then forget to do it. Your membership is what makes it possible for the Society to continue standing up for the environment.

BUSH WALK  - 26 August
The August walk will leave from the Acacia Road picnic area at 7am.  The bush breakfast previously  advertised for this date has been cancelled, but with the morning air still containing a good measure of crispness everyone is guaranteed of a very enjoyable walk.

TRINDER PARK REST HOME - HEALTH AND WELLBEING EXPO – 10am to 3pm
Friday 24th August is the date set for this years Health and Wellbeing Expo at Laurel Street, Trinder Park. This has always been a most enjoyable occasion and gives the Society a chance to meet and talk with the local residents.  

COFFEE BREAK – TUESDAY 4TH  SEPTEMBER - CHANGE OF VENUE
The September coffee morning will be held at 135 Frizzell Street, Stretton.  One of our members has built a functioning solar cooker and we will be baking a solar cake and making solar coffee and tea. Everyone is welcome to come along to see how it works and have some fun. (If the day is cloudy we will cook on the BBQ)

ALGESTER FUN DAY Sunday 19 Aug. 10am-3pm
Col Bennet Park – Yorell St. Algester.
Free entertainment for all the family
KFPS will be there and would appreciate some volunteers to help man our display

DATES TO REMEMBER - August/September

Report illegal activities to 3403 888