Water Filtration Plant

Crs Palmer and Rhoades with the official plaque The $60 million Water Filtration Plant at Karangi was officially opened on 9 June 2009.

Construction of the plant, which was one of three major projects being built in the city through the $250 million Coffs Infrastructure Alliance, began in 2006.

Background

In the past, Coffs Harbour has been serviced by a water supply extracted from the Orara River and pumped to the Karangi Dam. The water is treated to Australian Drinking Water Guidelines standards by aerating it at the dam to take out some iron and manganese. Lime and carbon dioxide is added to stabilise the water and chlorine is added for disinfection. In December 2002, Council began taking raw water from the Nymboida River as part of the Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour Regional Water Supply Project. Supply will also be taken from the Shannon Creek Dam once it is commissioned. As a result of taking water from these new sources, the raw water quality has declined slightly and the risk of a further decline has increased - hence the need for a Water Filtration Plant.

The new plant will assist Council to minimise any future risk of contamination of the local water supply by blue/green algae and pathogen infection, and will help ensure that Australian Drinking Water Guidelines continue to be met. It will also minimise problems created by iron and manganese in the existing supply, which has resulted in Council having to carry out an extensive flushing program.

Information about fluoridation.

Construction

The design and construction of the Water Filtration Plant was undertaken as part of an Alliance contract for a number of infrastructure projects in the city. A Risk Assessment and a Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) was conducted during the design to ensure that the right process was selected for our particular circumstances. In addition, a Hazard and Critical Point (HACCP) study of the whole system, from catchment to tap, was also bcarried out to ensure that the correct process controls are in place and that preventative measures are operating effectively.

This is in line with the procedures outlined in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for new Water Filtration Plants.

**Construction photos - New Water Filtration Plant site at Karangi: (more photos here)**
*Earthworks being carried out at the site of the new Water Filtration Plant (photo 24 Oct 2007)*		*The ground is being levelled before construction of the Water Filtration Plant (photo 24 Oct 2007)*

Location of Plant

The plant is located at 140 Upper Orara Road, Karangi, adjacent to the Transgrid site. The location of the plant was chosen following an extensive selection process that covers social, environmental and financial issues. Some of the determining factors for the final site were that it needed:

to be in close proximity to the existing pipeline from Karangi Dam to the Red Hill Balance Tanks;
to have specific elevations in order to minimise energy usage;
to allow as much building setback from boundaries in order to reduce the impact on neighbours;
to require little or no native vegetation removal; and
to have minimal environmental impact.