Alexandra households are enjoying improved water quality thanks to a $3.45 million regional water treatment plant.
Water Minister Tim Holding officially opened the Alexandra Water Treatment Plant today and said the new plant replaced the town’s outdated water treatment plant which was unable to meet growing demand
“The Brumby Government is working to provide safe, reliable and high quality drinking water to all Victorian communities,” Mr Holding said.
“The unprecedented drought and the impacts of climate change mean it is more important than ever for communities to have sustainable water services.
“The new plant will also cater for future supply to the towns of Eildon and Thornton via a pipeline from Alexandra scheduled for completion by 2009 providing these residents with fully treated water for the first time.”
Mr Holding said the $3.45 million project also included a $100,000 upgrade for the Goulburn River Pumping Station to match the capacity of the new plant.
“The plant will provide fully treated water all year round and help meet increased demand from projected population growth in the three towns over the next 20 years and support ongoing investment in the region,” he said.
“The plant will provide fully treated water all year round and help meet increased demand from projected population growth in the three towns over the next 20 years."
“The old plant only had a capacity of 1.6 million litres per day and was unable to effectively address water quality risks.
“The new plant has a capacity of 6.7 million litres per day and will meet the future needs of Alexandra and surrounding areas.”
Goulburn Valley Water Managing Director Peter Quinn said the dissolved air flotation filtration (DAFF) treated water to world’s best water quality standards.
“The old plant did not have the capacity to provide treated water for peak demand periods,” Mr Quinn said.
“The fully automated plant is monitored on a 24 hour basis to ensure a secure and continuous supply of high quality water for Goulburn Valley Water’s customers which was completed earlier this year and is now fully operational.”
The new plant can be remotely operated via Goulburn Valley Water’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
The Victorian Government recently called on local councils and water authorities to register their interest in the $20 million Small Towns Water Quality Fund by nominating projects which provide public health and environmental benefits to small towns throughout Victoria.