Immediate water preservation measures have been enforced for the Douglas Shire Council following the failure of the Mossman Water Treatment Plant.
Port Douglas, Mossman, and Newell Beach have been placed on level four water restrictions, the highest level possible, which urges residents to conserve water and cease all non-essential water.
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Residents are not to use any sprinkler systems, fill private swimming pools, and the cleaning of windows, paved areas and others cannot occur unless needed because of an accident, health hazard, fire, or other emergency.
A detailed list of the restrictions in place can be found here.
In a statement, Douglas Shire Council acting chief executive Scott Mason said customers would begin losing all water access from 12am on Thursday following a landslide from upstream of Rex Creek.
“Despite a mammoth effort to try and get the water treatment plant up and running, we haven’t been successful,” he said.
“We are working around the clock to alleviate the issue as quickly as possible.”
As well as the Mossman plant failing, two water pumps deployed from Cairns as an alternative method to transfer water to the treatment plant are experiencing water pressure and air pocket challenges.
“These challenges have prevented the treatment plant from running correctly,” the statement said.
An update will be provided by Douglas Shire Council on Saturday morning.
For more information, visit the Douglas Disaster Dashboard.