Improved water supply for growing northern suburbs

Date: Friday, 24th July 2009

Townsville’s rapidly expanding northern suburbs will soon enjoy improvements to the quality of their water supply, through the construction of a $67 million water treatment plant at Kinduro near Rollingstone.

Mayor Cr Les Tyrell today joined Queensland Main Roads Minister and Member for Thuringowa, Craig Wallace, in turning the first sod for the new plant which will be built by Brookfield Multiplex under contract to operators United Utilities Australia.

Cr Tyrell said the Northern Water Treatment Plant will be able to treat up to 40 megalitres a day from Crystal Creek and Lake Paluma, and deliver water quality that meets stringent industry standards.

"At the moment, northern residents are getting water from Crystal Creek and Lake Paluma, but unfortunately the water can be high in iron and manganese at times, largely during wet season," Cr Tyrell said.

"Because this can result in staining, it impacts on people’s ability to wash clothes and dishes.

"The construction of this treatment plant means those days will be soon be gone, with the facility delivering a higher and consistent standard of water quality throughout the year."

The water processed through membrane filtration at the Northern Water Treatment Plant will also flow into the Mt Louisa Reservoir which services a large part of Townsville, including Kirwan, the Bohle, Garbutt, Vincent and Heatley.

Cr Tyrell said the project was a key part of the $300 million Integrated Regional Water Strategy funded by the council and the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments to meet the city’s water and sewerage needs over the next 25 years.

"The work we’re doing today is about meeting the needs of tomorrow," Cr Tyrell said.

"We’re conscious that our population is growing at three per cent per year, so we need to lay the groundwork for ever increasing demands on our water supply."

Mr Wallace said the start of construction was good news for the region – not only for the residents who would benefit from improved water quality, but also for the jobs that would be created by the project’s construction.

"The Bligh Government has contributed $33.2 million to a package of water supply upgrades which includes the Northern Water Treatment Plant and improvements at the Douglas Water Treatment Plant," Mr Wallace said.
"On top of that, we’ve recently announced a $66.7 million investment for the council to upgrade its sewerage treatment plants.

"The sewerage upgrade will ensure wastewater treatment plants meet Environmental Protection Agency standards and better protect the Great Barrier Reef.

"These important water and sewerage infrastructure projects are helping to meet the growing needs of our local community."

A new water stabilisation plant is also being constructed upstream at Crystal Creek to pre-condition the quality of the water prior to treatment at the new facility at Kinduro.

Construction of the Northern Water Treatment Plant is scheduled to be complete by September 2010.

United Utilities Australia has also commenced a $24 million upgrade to the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, with the work expected to finish by November 2009.