TasWater has announced that Gretna’s drinking water system will be upgraded by late 2016, removing the need for residents to boil their water.
TasWater CEO Michael Brewster tonight (Thursday) confirmed at a community meeting in the town that a new pipeline will connect Gretna to a major nearby water pipeline and a new filtration system will provide water which will meet Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
The project will cost more than $3 million dollars and the Central Highlands Council will contribute $500,000 to the project.
A pipeline of approximately eight kilometres will link the town to TasWater’s main feeder line from Lake Fenton which provides drinking water to Hobart. The water will be stored locally in a new reservoir as well as making use of the existing water storage in Gretna.
The water will go through a filtration process before being delivered to homes via the existing reticulation network.
“Not only will the new system give Gretna residents water they can drink from their tap, but pressure will also improve,” Mr Brewster said.
“The Gretna upgrade is part of TasWater’s commitment to improving infrastructure across Tasmania and is part of a plan to spend more than $300 million on water and sewerage upgrades over the next three years.
“TasWater plans to cut the number of towns subject to Boil Water Alerts and Do Not Consume notices from 27 to eight over the next eighteen months.”
The Gretna project is still in the planning stages and the community will be kept up to date with developments as they proceed.
Work is expected to start early next year with clean drinking water flowing by the end of 2016.
As a result of the Gretna upgrade proceeding, TasWater will assess if there is enough support in the neighbouring towns of Bushy Park and Glenora to introduce a TasWater service in those towns. A community meeting will be held in Glenora in May.
Simon Pilkington, TasWater
