(l to R) Aaron Just, Senior Systems Engineer, Sage Automation & Peter Kafieris, Process Engineer, Laurie Curran Water
Construction of a new water treatment plant for Mole Creek is all but complete with treated water already being produced.
Mole Creek’s current water supply dates back to the period immediately following Word War 2 when in 1946 plans were put in place to set up a water system for the town.
Water started flowing in 1953. It was collected in a weir south of the town and after passing through a simple filter to remove pieces of clay, gravel and leaf litter, it was fed to the town’s reticulation network by gravity.
While this water has been used by the community for many years, it has never been adequately filtered or chlorinated and in line with current health regulations it fails to meet an acceptable standard and in recent years consumers have been advised to boil the water before consumption.
TasWater’s new treatment plant will change all that.
Contained in a large shed, the treatment plant sits alongside two large reservoirs-one for raw water while the other stores the fully treated water. Just like the existing system it will be fed to the town and rural properties along the way by gravity.
Built by water technology specialist, Laurie Curran Water, the plant is currently undergoing testing and commissioning. This is where the systems are tested and calibrated to ensure the filtration process thoroughly cleans and disinfects the water.
This is a complex process with the Department of Health and Human Services only allowing Mole Creeks need to boil water being revoked when it is absolutely confident the treatment plant can provide a consistent supply which meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
TasWater is also working through a review of the reticulation system throughout Mole Creek to ensure all customers are appropriately connected.
TasWater CEO Michael Brewster says he is really pleased to see progress being made at Mole Creek with treated water expected to be flowing by December 2016.
“I am happy too, to use this year’s national water week to highlight a series of projects around the state aimed at improving water quality.”
“Mole Creek is just one of a number of communities where a significant amount of money is being invested, part of TasWater’s annual spend of around $100 million on infrastructure upgrades.”
And our work isn’t going to ease up with plans to bring all our Tasmanian water supplies up to standard over the next two years so we can remove all existing boil water advisories.
Michael Brewster says this will be an occasion for a long awaited celebration for both residents in smaller communities around Tasmania and TasWater.
TasWater
