North East Water

Work has begun on the construction of a treated water storage at Myrtleford, the first stage of a $5 million project to upgrade the town’s water supply.

Contractors for North East Water have begun building a 4-megalitre tank on a site behind the Nil Gully raw water reservoir, east of the town.

The next stage in the project will see the construction of new treatment facilities, including a filtration system and capacity for chlorine disinfection.  The new treatment facilities will also be constructed within the existing Nil Gully raw water reservoir site.

North East Water’s Executive Manager Assets, Kevin Freeman, said the entire project was scheduled for completion by December 2010.

“The tank has been designed using best-practice principles to maximise the flow path of water within it prior to its distribution to the town,” he said.

“This is an important consideration as it aids in the optimal dosing of chlorine to ensure disinfection is achieved at the lowest possible dose.

“In planning this project, we have aimed for the right balance between compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 and the Myrtleford community’s point of view in regard to chemical disinfection.”

Mr Freeman said the addition of the storage tank and filtration to the treatment process would provide the best outcome in terms of compliance and minimisation of chemical disinfection.

“We’re confident that this multiple-barrier approach will mean that only small amounts of residual disinfection will be needed to meet the requirements of the Act,” he said.

Myrtleford’s water is currently disinfected using UV light, which has no residual effect after the water leaves the plant. 

A number of bacterial contaminations have been detected within the town’s water supply over recent years. 

This has led to the introduction of a seasonal Boil Water Notice during the warmer months, as directed by the Department of Health.