A northwest Queensland community is concerned its essential infrastructure won't be able to cope with a population increase as part of the $12 billion CopperString project. The state government has committed millions of dollars for water and sewerage work, but Hughenden locals are questioning why it's taken so long.
00:00Dirty, cloudy and chlorinated. Some say there's even a smell. That's how locals describe Huendon's water.
00:10Kind of not a full boiled egg but like a real, a bit of a rotten smell I guess.
00:15On a bad day you don't drink it because it's brown.
00:18Business owner Jodie Coward has lived in town for more than 30 years. She says the quality has never been poorer.
00:25I have filters on my drinking taps. At home I boil the water.
00:31Some say it irritates their skin.
00:33It starts like when you're showering and washing up and things like that your skin gets extremely dry.
00:39The water still meets drinking quality standards but the council acknowledges issues with infrastructure and underinvestment.
00:46Taps and sewerage are about to be put to the test with the region at the heart of the multi-billion dollar copper string transmission line project
00:54connecting the north west to the national electricity grid.
00:57With a 50 million dollar commitment to upgrade infrastructure it's now a race against the clock
01:03before close to 500 workers move into the camp behind me over the next six years.
01:08Treasurer David Janetsky says the state government will work with councils to allocate funding for priority water and sewerage infrastructure works.
01:16Locals question why it's taken until now.
01:19Copper string is an incredible catalytic project for our communities but in order for us to support them our core infrastructure really needs to be strong.
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