Goondiwindi Regional Council has completed an upgrade of its George Street water filtration plant.
Council said works to replace and upgrade the pumps at the plant will increase water pressure and flow rates to properties in the central area of Goondiwindi.
Cr Rick Kearney holds Council’s portfolio for water and sewerage and said the upgrades at the George Street plant have increased the water pressure from about 250 kPa to now about 400 kPa.
“After some further testing and network analysis, we hope to be able to further increase this to just under 500 kPa,” he said.
“This will ensure we meet the requirements of the Water Supply Code of Australia, as well as the standards needed for compliance for our local fire services throughout Goondiwindi.”
He said that with the improved water pressure, it was likely there would also be an increase in leaks in some of the older water mains in the region.
“I don’t know if many would realise that we have about 186 km of water mains in the Goondiwindi Region alone. Some of those assets are up to 60 years old, while the average lifespan of a water main is about 70 years.”
“Replacing and upgrading them all is a mammoth task, which is why we have to chip away year-on-year to ensure they’re up to standard,” Cr Kearney said.
“Council usually budgets about $600,000 towards the annual water main replacement program, and also sources external funding for additional projects.
“This year, we’re looking at spending about $1 million to replace water mains in the region for 2021-22.”
Council is currently also working to replace Goondiwindi’s Riddle Street booster pump with a new dual pump system. The booster station services the western side of the town and the new dual pump system will ensure consistent pressure and flow rates, Cr Kearney said.
Council allocated $520,000 towards the Riddle Street booster pump project from the state government’s COVID Works for Queensland program. Work is scheduled to finish in early October and residents are unlikely to notice any difference in their usual water pressure.
