Rodney Stevens
Clarence Valley residents who regularly experience discoloured or dirty water will be please to know local water supplies are being tested as part of the NSW Government’s Town Water Risk Reduction Program.
People from across the Clarence Valley share photos on social media of discoloured water regularly in baths, sinks, and bottles, while others post images of dirty water filters after only a month or two of use.
Clarence Valley Council CVC is currently investigating a filtration system for water supplies for the valley, which could cost up to $100 million.
Under the Town Water Risk Reduction Program TWRRP, WaterNSW is partnering with 12 local water utilities LWU around the state, including Clarence Valley Council CVC to monitor water sources to establish baseline water quality data, to help communities improve knowledge and management of drinking water supplies.
WaterNSW received NSW Government funding under the TWRRP to work with LWUs on dam safety risk assessments and to help improve the monitoring of source water quality.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water provides ongoing support and expertise, free of charge to LWUs, to improve water treatment including providing training to water operators and funding to LWUs to carry out upgrades to plants.
CVC first participated in the TWRRP in 2002 as part of a Dam Safety Pilot along with Orange City Council and Tamworth Regional Council which successfully built increased dam safety capacity in the participating councils, through improved understanding of dam safety risks, agreed strategies for councils to address their risks and non-compliances with dam safety regulations, and by increasing utilities’ decision-makers’ understanding of dam safety.
Last week it was announced Water NSW is partnering with LWU’s from Bourke, Central Tablelands Water, Clarence, Dubbo, Gwydir, Mid-Western, Murrumbidgee, Richmond Valley, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys, and Upper Hunter in the program until June 2025.
WaterNSW Executive Manager Strategy and Performance, Fiona Smith said Local Water Utilities had told them they don’t have good information about source water quality.
”That’s why we’re delighted to work together to collect and test these samples as part of the NSW Government’s Town Water Risk Reduction Program (TWRRP).
“Each month we’ll analyse the water samples collected from local reservoirs and rivers upstream of local water treatment plants.
“We will share that information with each participating council to provide an understanding of current issues in the source water and inform any management action.
“Then at the end of program we’ll put together a report of our analysis of the data we’ve jointly collected with each council.
“This baseline monitoring of source water quality will be a powerful tool to help each councils improve the management of local water supplies.”
Each LWU will be provided water sampling resource kits and training videos.
“The water samples we jointly collect with the 12 participating councils will be tested in labs for 15 analytes including metals, nutrients, organics and bacteria such as E. coli,” Ms Smith said.
“Each monthly data set will start to build a more complete picture of local risks and trends, so that at the end of the 12-month program in June 2025, these councils will have a better understanding of what is in their waterways, including any seasonal variability.”
For more information about the program visit https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/our-work/local-water-utilities/funding-and-other-programs/completed-programs/town-water-risk-reduction-program/about