Bega Valley Shire Council has been under increasing pressure to provide water filtration for the shire’s water supplies from both the federal government and the NSW Department of Health.
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The challenge for Bega Valley, and many other regional councils, has always been funding such a large program of water treatment but Fairfax Media understands that council will be the recipient of multi-million dollar funding from the state government that will see much-needed water filtration projects brought forward.
The shire’s drinking water is chlorinated as a single barrier against infection or pollution but council’s acting water and sewer manager Chris Best said council was under pressure to meet current standards and guidelines.
That pressure has resulted in council starting construction of its first water filtration plant for the shire in Bemboka.
“There’s a lot of diary farming around the area and it’s the area of highest risk. It’s also the smallest plant and so we could afford to do it,” Mr Best said.
Council has been designing it for a couple of years and construction started earlier this year. Commissioning is expected mid 2019.
“Bemboka water comes out of the Bemboka River. It’s a surface water source and not in a protected catchment. We will need four filtration plants to cover our customer base,” Mr Best said.
The Brogo-Bermagui supply has been the subject of precautionary boil water notices and has been identified as the next most in need of filtration. As council owns land there it will be easier to install a new system, Mr Best explained.
Council applied to the Safe and Secure Water Program for funding for the Brogo-Bermagui project which is estimated to cost about $10 million.
The next plant will be the Bega water supply for which council has money for scoping and design work although the construction could cost as much as $15 million.
The Yellow Pinch system will be the last and also the largest system.
“It’s a genuine priority for council. Funding will help with keeping bills down although we will still have to increase water bills. With new plant there’s always going to be an impact on residential bills. It’s a challenge for regional NSW. This is about funding the drinking water gap,” Mr Best said.
“NSW Health puts pressure on us but it’s a good thing,” Mr Best said.
Water filtration
Council currently uses a single barrier of chlorine as a protection against pollution and infection. It looks at e coli counts and cryptosporidium counts.
Water filtration adds another layer of protection and is used in conjunction with chlorine. However the use of water filtration usually means less chlorine is needed.
In the Bemboka water supply filtration will be by membranes.
In the Brogo-Bermagui supply the filtration system is likely to be by dissolved air flotation (DAF). This clarifies waters by the removal of suspended matter. The removal is achieved by dissolving air in the water under pressure and then releasing the air at atmospheric pressure. The released air forms tiny bubbles which adhere to the suspended matter causing the suspended matter to float to the surface of the water where it may then be removed.
In the Bega water supply there will be a focus on removing the iron which has been the cause of much discolouration in the drinking water supply.