Securing our water together
Interim water quality report
Seven months of testing by the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project (WCRWP) shows purified recycled water is meeting drinking water safety standards.
The interim water quality report confirms purified recycled water produced by the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant meets the Queensland regulatory standards. No hormones or viruses were detected in the purified recycled water.
The independent Expert Advisory Panel established to review testing and regulatory standards has assessed the Interim Water Quality report on the performance of the first of the three Advanced Water Treatment plants to be commissioned as part of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project (WCRWP).
The interim report shows the results of more than 8,000 tests conducted over seven months at the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant.
The Expert Scientific Panel, chaired by University of Queensland Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield, has reviewed the Interim Water Quality Report produced by the Western Corridor Recycled Water Company.
The Panel has reviewed and endorsed the scope of the testing program, which has been developed in accordance with the risk-based approach outlined in the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling. The guidelines recommend an approach to identifying, assessing and responding to risk in a prioritised manner using the testing regime.
The Panel's report states that:
The Interim Water Quality Report results show that the final quality of the purified recycled water conforms to the guideline levels prescribed by Queensland Health in the Public Health Regulation 2005. The consistent water quality achieved in these results indicates the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant is performing effectively and the commissioning and validation of the plant has been consistent with expectations.
Based on the testing results in the report, the commissioning of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project is proceeding well, providing confidence it is capable of consistently producing purified recycled water that is safe to be used to supplement Wivenhoe Dam.
The results indicate that the treatment process barriers are effective in controlling water quality hazards and reliably producing purified recycled water suitable for release into Wivenhoe Dam. No exceedances of the water quality standards have been measured in this testing data after normal operations commenced.
The Panel noted that there were five occasions during the validation and verification period that test results for chemical compounds exceeded the water quality standards prescribed in the Public Health Regulation 2005. No exceedances of the water quality standards were recorded in this testing data after normal operations commenced on 26 August 2008. The Panel report states that:
The Expert Advisory Panel has considered in detail those exceedances measured during the validation and verification phase, and endorses the corrective actions implemented. The fact that no exceedances have occurred during normal operations is evidence of the efficacy of the corrective actions. In each case where a confirmed exceedance has occurred, the exceedance reflects the commissioning of post-treatment processes, such as chlorination or lime dosing procedures, rather than the effectiveness of the exclusion and elimination barriers of microfiltration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation.
The Expert Advisory Panel understands that this interim report on the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant by the proponent is preliminary to the regulatory approval process, which is yet to occur.
In particular, the Panel notes that testing results will be assessed by the Office of the Water Supply Regulator as part of the Recycled Water Management Plan that is scheduled to be submitted to the regulators in early 2009. Approval of the Recycled Water Management Plan is required before purified recycled water can be used to supplement Wivenhoe Dam.