Conference Papers | 2009 Conference Papers

INTRODUCTION OF NEW WATER SOURCES TO BENDIGO – A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WATER YOU SHOWERED IN THIS MORNING

Ben Van Zeyl, Process and Maintenance Technician, VWA Bendigo Operations

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ABSTRACT

The Bendigo water treatment plant (WTP) is one of the three WTP’s which form the AQUA 2000 contract between Veolia Water Australia (VWA) and Coliban Water, to supply safe and reliable drinking water to Bendigo, Castlemaine and Kyneton. Recent drought conditions in central Victoria have severely impacted upon Coliban Water’s catchments and hence an alternative secure water supply has been needed for Bendigo. As a result alternate supplies such as the Waranga Basin have been drawn upon via the newly constructed Goldfields Super pipe. These new water sources have created a considerable variation in raw water quality compared to that for which the Bendigo WTP was originally designed to treat.

Initial assessment of the Waranga water quality entering the Sandhurst reservoir revealed variations in colour, turbidity, alkalinity, and metals concentration. In order to adapt to these changes we have considered a number of options for upgrading process elements, such as the lime dosing facility and implementing a greater capacity to manage increasing volumes of water treatment sludge. These variations have serious implications on our daily operations and contractual obligations to Coliban Water, including extra water sampling and analysis, higher chemical usage along with additional staffing resources to conduct process optimisation trials. This paper will provide an overview of the challenges faced by the introduction of new water sources to the Bendigo system along with the process investigation and optimisation implemented to meet these challenges.

KEY WORDS

Drought, New Water Sources, Water Treatment, Waranga Channel, Water Quality