A push to improve water management in the Queensland city of Townsville is getting serious.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has written a piece for the local paper explaining at length his views on Townsville’s water issues, while an intergovernmental taskforce has met for the first time to discuss the issues as well.

“Water security is vital for a part of the country that is located in the Dry Tropics and cannot necessarily rely on regular rainfall, yet Townsville is approaching nearly 20 years of water restrictions,” Mr Shorten wrote in an article for the Townsville Bulletin.

“What’s clear is that Townsville and the surrounding community need a long term sustainable solution.

“Water security is vital for residents and communities in the Townsville region. It’s also essential in attracting new investment and providing business certainty.

“I’m pleased the local, state and federal governments have recently formed a Water Taskforce to look at water security.

“The outcomes of the Water Taskforce review needs to provide a clear plan for water security, involving short and long term measures with funding attached, not just recommendations.”

Brad Webb, the chairman of the Water Taskforce, said the group’s first meeting covered demand management among other topics.

Solutions on the table include a gravity-fed pipeline to run from the Burdekin Falls Dam, an extension to the wall of the Burdekin Falls Dam or the building of the Hell’s Gate dam proposal.

The taskforce is due to provide an interim report to the State and Federal governments on June 30.