An emergency warning was sent to Clermont residents by text on Tuesday afternoon after both water pumps at Theresa Creek Dam failed on Monday. The dam supplies raw water to the town, about 290 kilometres south-west of Mackay.
The council has brought in extra staff to refill water tanks and monitor water quality. Under the conservation order, residents may flush toilets, bathe, drink and cook, but outdoor water use is not permitted. A water tanker has been made available at Isaac Regional Library.
The council thanked residents, saying town water consumption had almost halved by Tuesday afternoon, dropping to 15.4 litres per second from almost 30 litres per second on Monday afternoon. Council said water levels in its storages increased by 15 per cent this morning, and another update is expected this afternoon.
Clermont resident Liz Slattery commended the council's fast response but said some locals were frustrated by ongoing problems. "We've been pretty much on restrictions for the last few months or more because of ongoing issues," she said. "The amount we pay for our water rates is huge so there are a few people that are probably a bit antsy about it."
The failure is the latest in a run of water infrastructure problems across the Isaac region. Clermont residents were also warned to conserve water last month after a failure at the town's water treatment plant. An independent audit commissioned by the council found the town got down to 7.5 hours of supply on August 9 and has been under varying levels of restrictions since.
The audit identified multiple possible causes for the treatment plant failure, with a treatment system reaching its solids-handling limit a dominant factor. It noted the council had no documented plan for a water supply or treatment failure, and made 26 recommendations including reviewing the drinking water quality management plan and developing site-specific contingency plans. Isaac Mayor Kelly Vea Vea is yet to say which recommendations the council will implement.
Elsewhere in the local government area, the town of Carmila has had varying levels of water restrictions since May, and a treatment plant problem in Moranbah in August led to week-long restrictions there.