Clarifiers take on Townsville turbidity

Two new water clarifiers are planned for Townsville’s Douglas Water Treatment Plant thanks to a $27.5 million investment from Townsville City Council.

The clarifiers will enhance the plant’s capacity to produce high-quality potable drinking water for the community, a move to address unexpected interruptions to water delivery experienced in the past year.

Townsville Water and Waste Committee Chairperson Russ Cook said the clarifiers will minimise the risk of temporary discolouration of the drinking water supply caused by increased turbidity during the wet season.

“Like many water authorities across Australia, Townsville Water has to deal with increased turbidity in our raw water supply during the wet season,” Cook said.

“Following the issues experienced with discoloured water earlier this year, council set about finding ways to minimise the risk of a similar event happening again.

The installation of the two new clarifiers at the Douglas Water Treatment Plant is part of the Council’s integrated water strategy, Cook said.

“Clarifiers are part of the filtration process the water raw from the dam goes through before being treated to the highest possible standard and piped to homes and businesses across the city,” he said.

“This project will double the number of clarifiers at the Douglas Water Treatment Plant and increase the capacity to treat water during the wet season by an additional 90 megalitres per day.”

The council has also announced the completion of an enhanced secondary water intake for the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, while works to duplicate the pipeline between the dam and treatment plant has been fast-tracked.

Cook said the installation of the new clarifiers was also an investment in the future of the city, with Townsville’s population expected to keep growing in coming years.

“Townsville’s population is expected to reach 200,000 people this coming year and with all the positive developments on the horizon, the city is going to keep growing,” he said.

“This investment at Douglas Water Treatment Plant will ensure we can continue to meet the demand for clean, healthy drinking water in Townsville as it grows.”

BMD Constructions has been awarded the contract to construct the new clarifiers, which is expected to support around 40 jobs. Works are expected be completed by the end of August 2022.