Queensland school is forced to bring in bottled water for schoolkids to drink after local bore was ‘bled dry’ by commercial bottlers
- Tamborine Mountain School ran out of water this week when the bore dried up
- Drinking bubblers ran dry and toilets weren’t flushing at the rural school
- Bottled water was being brought in to address the lack of drinking water
- The community is calling on the state government to declare a water emergency
A school has run out of water in regional Queensland and the government is being forced to truck in supplies to keep it operational before the school holidays.
The situation is so bad at Tamborine Mountain School that parents claim bubblers are no longer running or toilets flushing.
During an assembly parents were even ‘strongly advised’ to consider keeping their children at home instead of sending them to school, according to the Brisbane Times.
Tamborine Mountain School in South East Queensland ran out of water this week after the local bore dried up
The school is not connected to the region’s water grid, instead relying on water tanks and a nearby bore.
But those same supplies are reportedly being bled dry by a commercial operator who is putting the water into single-use bottles and then selling it for a profit, reports the Guardian.
The bottled water is now being brought to the school by the department as part of their resupply effort to ensure the children don’t go thirsty.
Students at the Tamborine Mountain School in South East Queensland were being given bottled water after water supplies ran out
It’s something former P&C President and Save our Water Committee member Craig Peters has taken serious issue with.
As there is no town water supply for Tamborine Mountain, the school operates on bore and tank water.
He said it’s absurd the mountain’s water supplies are being used for commercial gain when the community doesn’t have adequate access.
‘Now the government is buying water back from Coca-Cola to bring here, which is where it came from in the first place,’ he told the Guardian.
The water shortage has created a stir among the community, with calls for a water emergency and urgent government intervention.
Part of the campaign saw the creation of a petition by local Julie Wilkinson asking to stop the commercial extraction of water during water shortages.
Julie described the situation as a David and Goliath type battle, with ‘the small town community fighting big business bottled water giants for their own water supply’.
Commercial operators take water from the Mount Tamborine area to sell in single-use bottles for commercial gain
Meanwhile the school will continue operating as normal, with the education department confirming it’s business as usual until the Christmas holidays.
A department spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that water bubblers, toilets and basins were functional, but they have been tasked with ensuring adequate water supplies up until holidays begin.