As TasWater continues to implement solutions to taste and odour noticed by some customers in their water, it is implementing several changes to the water sources used to supply Hobart and surrounding areas.
The supply from Lake Fenton at Mount Field which has been supplying the central city area, along with water from Ridgway, will be discontinued as both storages are being depleted.
CEO Mike Brewster said this will mean the City and surrounding areas will return to receiving water from the River Derwent, the original source of the taste and odour issue.
‘A programme of carbon treatment introduced several weeks ago at the Bryn Estyn treatment plant has significantly reduced the impact of taste and odour in the water.’
‘The carbon filtering is treating around 50-60% of the water at our Bryn Estyn plant which is seeing methyl-isoborneol (MIB) levels being reduced to around 7 nano grams per litre, which means only those with very sensitive taste and smell may detect it.’
‘Conditions in the system have also helped with water temperatures in the river reducing, which is having a positive impact on geosmin and MIB levels and therefore taste and odour,’ Mr Brewster said.
Changes in the water source for the eastern shore are also planned with the Risdon Brook Dam to be brought on line.
Customers in Risdon Vale, Geilston Bay, Lindisfarne, Flagstaff Gully, Warrane, Cambridge, Rokeby, Seven Mile Beach, Acton, Laurderdale, Midway Point and Sorell areas may notice some difference in the taste of their water.
The restructuring of water supplies in the wake of the taste and odour issue has involved a complex assessment of reservoir capacity, dam water levels and the impact on water pressure.
TasWater is committed to ensuring all our customers get the water they need and storage capacity is maintained to protect the quality of the supply and maintain reserves in the case of emergency.
Extensive testing shows all the water in affected systems continues to be safe to drink.
Simon Pilkington, TasWater
