Water Treatment Plant Upgrades
The “Normanton Water Treatment Plant Upgrades” was the major project undertaken for the W4Q (Covid) 2020-21 funding and was made up of three main components, as follows:
- Filter 5 and 6 refurbishments
- Coating of Reservoir 3
- Installation of new Actiflo Clarifier
Filters 5 and 6 each had their internal pipework, nozzles and drains replaced along with the filter media by Water Treatment Australia Pty Ltd. This made up phase 3 of Council’s filter refurbishment program which commenced in 2019 after recommendations from a 2018 DNRME audit. The upgrades have resulted in a more consistent water quality, longer filter run times and improved treatment capacity.
Manager Water and Waste Ben Hill said, “the funding provided by the State Government through the Works 4 Queensland COVID program allowed complete refurbishment of the filters and underdrains which has led to improved reliability and water quality.”
Reservoir #3 was badly corroded and needed rehabilitation. Using the W4Q Covid funding, Council was able to engage specialist applicators (Australian Coating Solutions) to repair, patch and recoat the reservoirs to provide long-term protection.
The installation of the new Actiflo (Veolia) clarifier was a large project completed fully using W4Q Covid funding and will provide additional water security for the townships of Normanton and Karumba. This has been an extremely important project for the community, as there was previously only one clarifier which is now approximately 11 years old. The older clarifier struggled to meet peak season demands and was required to run continuously for months at a time without being able to be shut down for maintenance (or breakdowns).
The civil construction and installation components of the project were carried out by Heaton Plant and Pipeline with the assistance of Council staff. The new clarifier increases system redundancy, has a larger treatment capacity than the existing and will allow Council to take the old clarifier offline to perform inspections and refurbishment.
Manager Water and Waste Ben Hill Said “I would like to highlight that the nature of the works has also been of great benefit to local contractors and businesses with additional local spend and training. Council staff took great pride and enjoyment in assisting with the jobs, which will also provide long-term benefits to the community. This would not have been possible without the assistance of the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning’s Works for Queensland (Covid) 2020-21 program”.