All in this together
THROUGHOUT the state, TasWater staff are working to secure Tasmania’s water supply in challenging times.
The company is addressing the drier than usual conditions by encouraging customers to reduce their water use, and by upgrading existing infrastructure to ensure the security of water supply into the future.
Tasmania, like much of Australia, has been experiencing dry conditions and low rainfall, and TasWater has introduced restrictions this summer.
“The aim of restrictions is to reduce demand,” TasWater’s Lance Stapleton said.
The company’s priority is to make sure people have enough water for drinking and other essential needs, as well as providing water to assist with firefighting.
“If we can all use water wisely and carefully, there will be enough to go around,” Mr Stapleton said.
Several factors are contributing to the need for restrictions:
LOW RAINFALL and resulting low river flows, particularly on the East Coast; COMPETING demands for water from rivers and dams for drinking water, irrigation and environmental flow; EVENTS such as algae in dams and rivers needing increased treatment; INFRASTRUCTURE capabilities and limitations.
Dry conditions are particularly prevalent on the East Coast but are affecting other parts of Tasmania as well.
“This can change quickly if rain falls in the right place but we anticipate that for many areas this autumn will continue to be dry and the need for water restrictions will remain,” Mr Stapleton said.
“While Tasmania may not be as acutely affected as other areas, we may need to build more resilience and capacity into some systems to reduce the need for water restrictions into the future.
“Across the country we all need to think about conserving water all the time, not just during summer peak, to reduce the impacts of shortages and the need for severe water restrictions.”
TasWater is exploring other options for communities affected by water restrictions, such as additional storage, working with other water managers and potentially even desalination.
“Typically these are long-term infrastructure solutions and can’t be rolled-out in the short-term to alleviate water restrictions,” Mr Stapleton said.
Tim Cubit of TasWater’s Capital Delivery Office is part of the effort to ensure the security of water supply into the future.
The company has an ongoing program of infrastructure investment across all its facilities to ensure a sustainable and affordable water and sewerage system.
The most significant project is the $165 million upgrade of the Bryn Estyn water treatment plant, near New Norfolk, which has supplied much of greater Hobart’s needs since 1962.
“We are restoring Bryn Estyn to its original capacity which is 160 megalitres per day – we currently produce on average 120 megalitres per day,” Mr Cubit said.
“Mostly due to ageing infrastructure, the output of the plant has reduced and it is taking longer to produce the water to the quality we need,” he said.
The design is expected to be completed by the end of June, then moving into a two-year construction phase. The plant will be considerably enlarged with new buildings and reservoirs, while continuing to draw and treat water from the River Derwent to supply the needs of 55,000 customers each day.
TasWater is also about to start work on upgrading the capacity of Henderson Dam on Flinders Island and safety improvements at Mikany Dam at Smithton. Work has recently been done at Swansea to increase the raw water capacity at the plant there.
The company has this week completed the installation of a new activated carbon system at Coles Bay which will enable TasWater to access a further 50 days of supply from the local water source.
“This is all about developing and constructing assets with the future in mind,” Mr Cubit said. “We are seeing fewer rainy days but higher rainfall events ... we need to be better at capturing the rain when these events occur.” Visit www.taswater.com.au for more information about water restrictions, how to use less water, and TasWater’s improvement plans.