Tamar RIVER
IT’S GREAT to see Professor Davis rejoining the conversation in The Examiner, her expert ecological knowledge is valuable and welcome.
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The reality is that the growth of sediments during the past two years of low flows allowed by a reluctant Hydro, compromise Launceston's flood protection scheme, inhibit the flushing of City sewerage plants and raking as an effective removal system.
Summer sediment accretion rates approached 12,000 cubic meters (m3) per month, or more than 100,000m3 per annum and as Professor Davis points out, now stands in the way of a multitude of urban development, tourism and recreational prospects. Tasmania is poised to enjoy great benefits from a boom in tourism, which earned $2.3bn last year, grew by 8 per cent and provided 38,000 jobs.
But Launceston could well be denied its share again, as low tides are revealing unattractive and smelly mud banks around our main recreational areas.
Without any compensation or compromise, the City has put up with this for 60 years. Restoring the river is the total, immediate solution and it is nonsense to suggest that we have any responsibility for Hydro's profits.
Enough is enough, Launceston will never reach its full potential until the South Esk is returned to the Cataract Gorge and the minor producing Trevallyn power station closed.
Other options of in stream electricity generation can then be assessed, as they should have been 60 years ago.
Alan Birchmore, Newnham.
LGH PRAISE
I WOULD like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the care givers at the Launceston General Hospital.
I spent an unexpected five days over the long weekend, two of these in emergency and three on ward 5A.
It is no fault of the staff that clients have to be cared for after admission, until a bed becomes available. I was most impressed with all the treatment I received.
As for the health budget, at no time did I feel a nuisance for taking up a bed, unlike my experience in private, where post operatively, the urgency to discharge one was evident, inspite of paying $14,000 out of my own pocket.
Our population is ageing and sicker, as our lives are prolonged and they develop clever ways to fix us up. Of course this places added strain on the system.
In those five days I used a lot of stuff, seven intravenous cannulas, tubing, six litres of I.V.fluid, 17 butterflies, blood vials, syringes, bedpans, drinks, food and the list goes on
The pans, urinals and vomit bowls are made of recyclable material so this is a great step to save.
What did amaze me was the Code Black (which I understand is a common occurrence).
Maybe a place could be made available outside of, but near to emergency, where clients who pose a threat could be taken until the danger has passed, thus needing less personnel and freeing up the area and enable the staff to get on with the excellent care provided.
Maureen Shadbolt, Longford.
Conserving electricity
THE government are reassuring us there will be no electricity supply problems but I believe we should be saving energy wherever we can, just in case that advice is wrong.
In particular I noticed on Thursday, around 11.00am where the East Tamar Highway passes under Paterson Street there were about 40 fluorescent lights burning. This in a distance of maybe 60m three lanes, all one way. If these are 100 W each, 4kWh of energy is being consumed each hour.
Over 24 hours we are talking about 96kWh a day, worth saving and given the well lined traffic lanes I doubt if there is any real danger to traffic flow.