There is an emerging paradigm in asset, environmental and operations management in which the “drivers” include the need for effective low cost monitoring, and management at municipal facilities, civil developments, farms, irrigation schemes, mines, CSG operations and industrial sites. At all these sites the challenge increasingly is to provide comprehensive monitoring, telemetry and remote data access including alerts and alarms, solar power and demonstrated inter-operability with third party devices.

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Highlight the need for ongoing review of operational procedures and control system programs. Details of two operational events in the Port Macquarie/-Camden Haven water supply scheme that affected water quality and discuss the causes, actions taken to rectify and provide solutions to avoid these issues in the future.

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Tamworth has been historically served by the Westdale and Swan St Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP). The first sewage treatment plant in Tamworth was a trickle filter plant at Swan Street and was built in 1928 and WWTP serviced the northern and eastern areas of the city. A second sewage treatment plant, Westdale Wastewater Treatment Plant was built in 1975, upgraded in 1982 and again in 1994 and it treated wastewater by both trickle filter and extended aeration methods.

It serviced the development located on the southern side of the Peel River including most of the industrial trade waste customers and discharged directly to the Wallamore Anabranch. At that time the treatment capacity of Swan St STP was 18,000 EP (EP = Equivalent Persons) and Westdale STP was 33,000ep. With both of these plants running at over capacity, the need for an upgrade was urgent and had been ‘in the pipeline’ for a long time.

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Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the NSW Health’s North Coast Public Health Unit reinforcing its long term strategic approach to providing clean, safe drinking water to its consumers. Outline the purpose and benefits provided by the MOU, including the strategic ability to comply with the requirements of the NSW Public Health Act 2010 and Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011. This includes communication paths and procedures to ensure that Council and NSW Health work cooperatively together to ensure the safe quality of drinking water at all times.

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Leak detection in large diameter transmission water pipelines has historically proven difficult for operators. Traditional leak correlators have worked well on smaller diameter distribution networks but have limitations in detecting leaks on larger diameter pipe (> 300 mm). In many cases, large diameter transmission mains are the backbone to most utility systems and, as a result, have a high level of consequence of failure. Therefore, identifying leaks on a these large diameter pipelines can be of greater value when looking at the overall risk of failure.

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Most modern sewage treatment involves aeration in an activated sludge process. A typical activated sludge process plant may consume between 50 and 60% of the total power consumed by the complete treatment process.¹ This paper reviews steps taken, in a typical upgrade of a medium sized plant, to replace diffusers, optimize the aeration controls and to minimise power consumption.

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With the introduction of Water Quality Management Plans (WQMP) and the required monitoring of control points, the inspection and maintenance of water storage tanks is critical in the delivery of safe drinking water to consumers. For a condition assessment program to be balanced and relevant, four key areas need to be focused upon; site security, water quality, OH&S and structural issues.

Managing the evidence (information collected in the field) is the next logical step in the process. A data capture and storage program should include specialised templates, a colour coded priority system, a library of photographic evidence and a detailed search function to enable decisive actions to be taken. A register that tracks responsibilities and procedures when carrying out maintenance projects is the final part of the system, as it closes the ‘loop’ between the initial inspections and the final sign off of any works completed.

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The expectation of an Operator in the water industry sometimes requires them to be an expert in Mechanical, Electrical and Microbiological processes. Operators also need to be proficient in laboratory analysis and have skills which ensure they meet daily EPA discharge licence agreements from their waste water treatment plants or meet Australian Drinking Water Guidelines with the water produced from their drinking water treatments plants.

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Chisholm Institute has established a National Water Resource Training Facility at their Cranbourne Campus. The establishment of this facility is a leading step when it comes to Water and Wastewater Operator Training. The facility will be fully accredited and offer numerous curriculum for the Water or Wastewater Operator.

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Up until January 2011 the Toowoomba region was in the grip of one of the worst droughts on record. During the dry conditions Council implemented measures to conserve the remaining storage supplies, Level 5 water restrictions were introduced and ground water extraction was increased after drilling and equipping additional basalt aquifer bores. In January 2011 flood events were experienced and all 3 surface storage supplies filled above full supply level. The flood event stretched Council resources to the limit and caused significant damage to council’s water infrastructure. Sewer and water mains were washed from their foundations, major pump stations were submerged and dam walls experienced water levels and hydraulic loads higher than ever previously recorded.

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Introducing the proposed framework for the national certification of water operators “The Certification Framework for Operators of Drinking Water Treatment Systems”. The certification framework provides an assurance to regulators, communities and consumers that certified operators who treat drinking water are competent to perform the tasks required to ensure it is safe and are capable in identifying and responding to water quality risks and incidents.

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Briefly explore how the introduction of penalties under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 for discharges to the environment acted as a catalyst for a paradigm shift in Council’s attitude towards effluent. A number of projects were undertaken with the intent being to enhance the wastewater treatment process to increase its suitability as a resource and enhance biodiversity at the site and in our local environment. In the years after these project’s completion it has been demonstrated that quality wastewater treatment and biodiversity are mutually beneficial at an economic, social and environmental level.

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In this day and age of OH&S we find ourselves seeking safe and cost effective methods to complete necessary projects. Work which is considered a high risk is often neglected or continuously put off, especially when heights and hard to reach areas are concerned. A safe, cost effective solution to this problem is to utilize industrial abseilers with Technical Rope Access Concept (TRAC) training.

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Dubbo’s projected population reaching 55 000 by 2021 means a greater capacity for Sewage Treatment for the city is required. Dubbo City Council proposes to augment the Dubbo STP to meet current and future environmental standards and projected population growth requirements by extending the existing Sewage Treatment Plant to an adjacent, vacant part of the current STP site, to the east of the existing STP facilities.

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Analyses several years of operating filter turbidity data to assess the performance improvements made through the implementation of various filter optimisation modifications. The data analysis was undertaken using the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) Filter Performance Analysis Tool v1.7. The results of the historical data analysis verified that continuous improvement in setting best practice filter performance targets and implementing improvements to process controls have significantly improved the operation of ActewAGL’s filters, contributing to the production of safe drinking water.

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The tertiary treatment ponds at West Kempsey STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) were due to be desludged to meet the PRP conditions from EPA as a part of flood recovery and ongoing use of the ponds. The sludge volume was high and with a limited budget conventional options for dewatering were eliminated. De-sludging was achieved by constructing purpose made drying beds using simple fencing material such as plain wire, chook wire, timber posts, star pickets and shade cloth. This paper focuses on the trial, full scale construction of the drying beds, evaluates the consolidation and dewatering behaviour of the drying beds, evaluates the water quality of effluent flowing through the shade cloth and the cost. Opportunities for utilising similar dewatering options where land is available within the treatment plant site or within the nearby boundary of the treatment plant.

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Forster wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is situated within the tourist belt of the Mid North Coast and can experience an increase in flow of up to 85% during holiday periods. In the past, Forster WWTP has struggled to produce quality effluent during holiday periods due to peak load exceeding the design capacity of the intermittently decanted extended aeration tanks (IDEAT’s). The accumulation of cotton buds throughout the plant processes were also becoming a major concern. Due to the rapid rise in power costs and concerns for carbon footprint, MidCoast Water identified the need to address the effluent quality concerns with an emphasis on improving the plants overall efficiency. Discuss the processes employed in meeting this challenge and highlights the fact that it can be achieved with the existing infrastructure by taking a holistic approach.

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Riverina Water County Council (RWCC) began constructing groundwater bores from 1967 to provide an economical and reliable water supply to independent water supply systems and to augment their existing interconnected supply systems. Currently RWCC has 28 bores with diameters ranging from 250mm to 400mm and providing yields 1 l/s to 150 l/s. Ground water sources supply up to 80% of peak summers demand and currently comprises approximately two thirds of RWCC’s total township water allocations.

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