Yass Water Treatment Plant Update

Last week it was announced that Yass Valley Council has accepted a grant of $2.543 million from the NSW Government’s Housing Acceleration Fund to complete stage one of the Yass Water Treatment Plant upgrade.

Under stage one, Council will install bubble plume aeration at Yass Dam, upgrade the raw water pump station, and complete urgent works at the Yass Water Treatment Plant.

According to James Dugdell, Yass Valley Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Assets, this should reduce the number of days residents experience water discolouration and/or water with a noticeable odour.

Construction of stage one is due to begin in October 2021 and finish in January 2022, weather and COVID-19 restrictions permitting.

Meanwhile, Council plans to work on the business case and design for stages two and three. Stage two is a new water treatment plant that will ensure Yass Valley residents consistently receive high-quality drinking water. Stage three will refurbish the existing treatment plant for use when the new plant is undergoing long-term maintenance or experiencing excessive demand.

However, there are no guarantees that stages two and three will go ahead because the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (Water) (DPIE (Water)) has queried the nature of the upgrade proposed by Council for a range of technical, operational and cost-related reasons.

Nonetheless, Mr Dugdell is pushing forward, saying “Council and its consultant, Hunter H20, completed a very detailed study of Yass Dam and the raw water quality to ensure that the design for the new water treatment plant meets all health and water quality guidelines.

“After receiving feedback from DPIE (Water), Council engaged an experienced peer reviewer, City Water Technology, to conduct a peer review of all Council and Hunter H20’s proposal.

“The peer-review confirmed the need for the new water treatment plant to deliver the water quality requirements. The electrical control circuits in the 31-year-old plant are no longer suitable and a full upgrade is required to reduce the risk of unacceptable outages and disruptions to the water supply” he said.

Council will continue to work with DPIE (Water) and NSW Health as the regulating authorities to ensure the best outcome for the community.

• Topics:

• Government Grants / Funding
• Water