Water Journal December 2006

AWA AUSTRALIAN WATER ASSOCIATION

WATER SUPPLY SMART SEWERS EMERGENCY RESPONSE

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Volume 33 No 8 December 2006

Journal of the Australian Water Association

OPINION AND INDUSTRY NEWS OPINION Leadership on Climate Change The Dreaded P-word My Point of View

DDay, President, AWA CDavis, CEO, AWA

4

Professor Veronica Strang, University of Auckland

6

AWA NEWS Includes: Water Education Network (WEN), National Water Week, Water Industry Capacity Development (WICD), Water Industry HR Group and Young Water Professionals

5

8

CROSSCURRENT National Issues and Policy, International, States, People in the News, Clippings

14

AWA MEMBERSHIP NEWS New Members

34

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NATIONAL EVENT CALENDAR

35

Events, Call for Papers, Conference Reports

36

TECHNICAL FEATURES I ·, indicates the paper has been refereed I EMERGENCY RESPONSE [i] Emergency Response Checklist: 13 Cs and 1 R

P Roberts

48

G(rapper, S Muncaster, GMcKenzie, GTierney

49

AKrumins, PGaw

53

DRaha

57

NRoseth

62

ADavison, DDeere

67

TKuypers, AMackay and MPTaylor

72

Laminated card used with other specific notes ~

Flood Warning and Emergency Management for Shepparton-Mooroopna

Detailed web-based communication to both authorities and residents

SMART SEWERS NuSewers, Brisbane Water's Low Infiltration System

Alow maintenance, tree root free, sewerage system

WATER SUPPLY [i] Environmental Impact Study For Proposed Kurnell Desalination Plant

No significant environmental impact [i] Community views on water shortages and conservation

Many perceive that they can do a lot more to save water [ii Catchment To Cook? Integrating the Water Cycle and the Food Chain

ISO 22000:2005 as another risk management tool? [i] Engineered reed beds for the treatment of potable water

Simple and proven effective for 24 years

WATER BUSINESS NEW PRODUCTS AND BUSINESS INFORMATION • SPECIAL FEATURE: PROCESS CONTROL SENSORS & INSTRUMENTATION 77 88

ADVERTISERS' INDEX OUR COVER

s

At the recent ANCID Conference (see page 44) it was stated that irrigation ocrnpies only I% ofAustralia agricultural land yet produces 30% of Australia's agricultural value and 50% ofprofit. Due to the ve1y low run-off this winter, the Hume Dam is only 9% full, yet some water is still being released. This dramatic photo, courtesy of Trevor lerino, of Gou/burn Murray Water, is ofthe discharge from a partly open outlet valve.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 l

~ AWA CONTACT DETAILS • 'Promoting the sustainable ..~ management o,Jwater > AVUl All"ll

POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 388, ARTARMON NSW 1570

EMAIL info@awa.asn.au WEBSITE http://www.awa.asn.au PRESIDENT Darryl Day · president@awa.asn. au

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Chris Davis· cdavis@awa.asn.au

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER Ian Jarman· ijarman@awa.asn.au

EVENTS Linda Phillips - 61 2 9495 9914 lphillips@awa.asn .au

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION AND INQUIRIES Michael Seller · 02 6581 3483 mseller@awa.asn.a u

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS AND CHANGES Mem bership Team· 1300 36 1 426 info@awa.asn.au

MEDIA AND MARKETING Jennifer Sage - jsage@awa .asn.au

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION Diane Wiesner PhD· 61 2 9495 9906 dwiesner@awa .asn.au

WATER EDUCATION NETWORK Corinne Cheeseman - 6 1 2 9495 9907 ccheesman@awa.asn.au

NATIONAL SPECIALIST NETWORK Laura Evanson . 6 1 2 9495 9917 levanson@awa.asn .au

AWA BRANCHES: AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY and NEW SOUTH WALES Errin Dryden - 61 2 9495 9908 edryden@awa .asn .au NORTHERN TERR ITORY c/o Ian Jarman . 61 2 9495 9911 i jarman@awa .asn .au SOUTH AUSTRALIA Sarah Carey - 6 1 8 8267 1783 sabranch@awa.asn.au QUEENSLAND Kathy Bourbon . 6 1 7 33 97 5644 awaq@awa.as n.au TASMANIA c/o Ian Jarman - 61 2 9495 99 11 ijarman@awa.asn.au VICTORIA Joe Owzinsky - 6 1 3 9509 2748 awwa@i .net.a u W ESTERN AUSTRALIA Coth Miller - 04 16 289 075 cmiller@awa.asn.au INTERNATIO NAL WATER ASSOC IATION, AUST. (IWAA) c/o Chris Davis· cdavis@awa.asn .au

DISCLAIMER Australian Water Association assumes no responsibility for opinion or statements of facts expressed by contributors or advertisers.

COPYRIGHT AW A Water Journal is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission of AWA. To seek perm ission to reproduce Wa ter Journal material email your request to: jsage@awa.asn.au

2 DECEMBER 2006

water

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Volume 33 No 8 December 2006

ISSN 03 10-0367

AWA WATER JOURNAL MISSION STATEMENT 'To provide oprint journal thot interests and informs on water matters, Australian and international, covering technological, environmental, economic and social aspects, and to provide a repository of useful refereed papers.'

PUBLISH DATES Water Journal is published eight times per year: February, March, May, June, August, September, November and December EDITORIAL BOARD: Chairman: FR Bishop BN Anderson, TAnderson, CDiaper, GFinlayson, AGibson, GA Holder, BLabza, MMuntisov, CPorler, DPower, FRoddick EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Water Journal inviles edilorial submissions for: Technical Papers and topical arlicles, Opinion, News, New Producls and Business Information.

Acceptance of editorial submissions is subject to editorial board discretion.

Email your submissions lo one of the following three categories: 1. TECHNICAL PAPERS AND FEATURES Bob Swinton, Technical Editor, Water Journal: bswinton@bigpond.net.au AND https:/ /zeus.econ.umd.edu/wj (Editorial Express) Papers of 3000-4000 words (allowing for graphics); or lopical slories of up to 2,000 words. relaling to all areas of the water cycle and waler business.

Submissions are tabled at monthly edilorial board meelings and where appropriate are assigned to referees. Referee comments will be forwarded to lhe principal aulhor for furlher action. See box on page lO for more details.

2. OPINION, INDUSTRY NEWS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Jennifer Sage, jsage@awa.asn.au Arlicles of 1000 words or less 3. WATER BUSINESS Brian Rault, National Sales & Advertising Manager, Hallmark Editions brian.rault@halledit.com.au Waler Business updales readers on new products and associated business news within lhe water seclor.

ADVERTISING Brian Rault, National Sales & Advertising Manager, Hallmark Editions Tel: 61 3 8S34 SO 14 (direct), 61 3 8S34 S000 (switch), brian.rault@halledit.com.au Advertisemenls are included as an information service to readers and are reviewed before publicalion to ensure relevance to the waler environment and objectives of AWA. PURCHASING WATER JOURNAL Single issues available @ $12.50 plus postage and handling; email dwiesner@awa.asn.au BACK ISSUES Water Journal back issues are available to AWA members at www.awa.asn.au PUBLISHER Hallmark Edilions, PO BOX 84, HAMPTON, VICTORIA 3188 Tel: 61 3 8534 5000 Fax: 61 3 9530 8911 Email: hallmark.editions@halledit.com.au

Journal of the Australian Water Association

• rofessional

develo •

conference reports pricing and making water highly valued'.

There were several 'Feature Sessions' on the program, supported by correspondi ng Agencies including: Water Planning under the National Water Initiative (NWI) (the National Water Commission); Integrated Water Resource Managem ent (Global Water Partnership); Australia's Northern Rivers (CSIRO and Land and Water Australia); AusAID's five-yea r Regional Plan for China; Modelling of Cl imate Change and Land Use Change (DHI); and a session tided 'H2O Solutions' (which was on urban water supply options and very 'AWA-like').

The Feature Session on Water Plan ning under NWI was faci litated by Mr Ken Matthews, C hair of the NWC. Professor Peter C ullen started the ball rolling by emphasising that water planning to ident ify the su stainable 'co nsumptive pool' of each river was the central element of the NWI. H e reviewed the various supply-side and d emand-side options now being considered, noting for instance, that groundwater was not a 'magic pudding' because it depended on rainfall fo r recharge. We must assess where aqui fers are connected to rivers to avoid depleting the fo rmer at the expense of the latter.

His v iew is that social impact assessm ent is the worst performing part of water planni ng. Co mmuni ry engagement needs to be revitalised. Sma rt water planning involves identifyi ng and gaining communi ty acceptance fo r new options.

Professor Angela Archington, from the Australian Rivers Inst itute at Griffith University, was heartened by the co mmitment of the NWI that water plann ing will in volve judgements informed by best available science..... She believes that Queensland has the strongest water (resource) planning process in the country.

Technical Advisory Panels (TAP) are established to advise the D epartment of Natural Resources and Water on each river basin planning p rocess. The TAP assesses the current condition of the river system, conservation values, environmental flow in dicators, infrastructure impacts, other environmental criteria, and benchmark

assessments against other river systems.

Some sub-catchments within major river systems have been protected under this planning process. Additional to chis is the Queensland Wild Rivers fra m ework.

'wi nner', by marginally more general acclaim, was the billboard by the Ad vertising Depot which said, "Lets N or Recycle Water" subtext "ShorrT ermThinking.com.au"

O n the downside she noted that there is still not enough d ata on river condition , and T APs have to rely on ad hoc studies.

Not all the T AP's ad vice is taken up and not all the final decision-making process becomes public. So metimes the water planning is 'adj usted' to fit water infrastructure proposals. H owever, one of the biggest issues is that the scien ce and plan ning of the water-quantity-focused NWI Water Plan ning process, is not formally in tegrated with the catchment managem ent, riverine management and other N RM planning p rocesses for the same river as are being undertaken by the Regio nal NRM Bodies. The NWI simply notes that, "Other natural resource managem ent initiatives having a sig nificant water focus ..... play an important and complementary role in improvi ng the sustainable managem en t of water in Australia".

The winners of the T h iess Riverprizes for 200 6 were:

The In tern ational Riversymposium 2006 con tai ned several innovative, informative, insightful initiatives that were also entertaining . The screening ofAn Inconvenient Truth; the Young Water Scientist of th e Year Award (YWSOTY); presentation of three m ajor world river case studies: the C hao Phrya, the Amazon , the Congo; the Recycling Advertising C hallenge, a Study Tour (44 delegates); the Launch of Griffith University's new Australian Rivers Institute (water sciences research expertise, headed by Professor Stuart Bunn); and righ t down to an engaging character named Bob Johnson who argues that 'trash reflects impo rtant trurhs about our culture' and so comp resses trash rem oved fro m rivers into 'rivercube' sculptures to be positioned on riverbanks.

In the advertising challenge, 'Will Brisbane Drink Recycled Water', five Brisbane advertising companies were challenged to create billboards that would persuade the community about the acceptabili ty of recycling water for potable purposes. All five entries were extremely clever and the

• National Th iess Riverprize winner was the Torbay Catch ment in southern WA (Torbay Catch ment Group and the WA Departm ent of Environment); and the • International Thiess Riverprize winner was the Sha River, C hina - (Foreign Affairs Office of C hengdu Municipal Government).

The winner of the YWSOTY Award was Sa m Buchanan, PhD Candidate, UNSW,

Wet Roots? - High Resolution Groundwater Mapping For Agricultural and Riverine Management.

The 2006 speaker's papers are available on: www.riversymposium.com Next year wi ll be the tenth In ternational Riversymposium (3-6 September, 200 7) and an extra special event is planned. Ir will be held in conjunction with the International E nviron mental Flows C on fere nce partnering with T he Nature Conservancy' . lt will h ave a special focus on exploring environmental flows fro m a science, policy, community and business perspective . T he first Call fo r Papers is now open: www.riversymposium.com A WA is represented on the Riversymposium Strategic Planning Committee by T erry Loos . AWA was prominently iden tifi ed as a Supporti ng Sponsor in Riversymposium literature and advertising. C hris D avis chaired a plenary session and was a judge on the Young Water Scientist Award.

While the riming of Riversymposium does not generally clash with any major AWA foru ms, AWA is planning to work closer with Riversymposium so that we can explore greater synergies in programming and subject matter. Strategic planning for 2007 will be on 3 November 2006. Your ideas and suggestions would be welcome doos@awa.asn.au

With six of the best brand names in municipal and industrial water and waste water treatment, and over 100 years of experience, it is clear that we can find a solution for you .

Tel: 02 4320 4755 e-mail: mark.houghton@glv.com find it all @www.glv.com

Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

A1j Gl V COMPANY

DECEMBER 2006 47

:\fereed paper

EMERGENCY RESPONSE CHECKLIST 13 Cs AND 1 R P Roberts Background Goulbu rn Valley Water (GVW) provides water and wastewater services to about 123,000 people, sp read across 54 country towns in a 2 0,000 sq km. region in central Vicroria. Town populations range in size from as small as 30, to Shepparton/ Mooroo pna with about 46,000 people.

GVW operates in open catchments with various agricultural and horticultural activities. Major assets include 4 0 water treatment plants, 26 wastewater fa cilities and 340 pumpi ng stations. Historically, emergencies have occu rred fro m events such as storms, spills in the catchment, loss of power, equip ment fai lure, bushfires and floods.

I n an emergency GVW collaborates with our bulk water supplier G-MW, the local catchment management au thority GBCMA, the EPA, Department o f Human Services (D H S), Department of Sustainabili ty & Environ ment (DSE), local shire councils and other agencies.

T he attached generic checklist (somewhat precised for this pu blication) is used by operators and managers in GVW fo r guidance in the event of an emergency. I r is in a laminated card format and used with other emergency guidance notes. It sets out general principles that might be addressed and is not meant to replace GVW's detailed preventative, response,contingency or recovery plans. If people have considered the 14 principles they will have go ne some way to managi ng the emergency.

Other documentat ion for autho rities in Victoria to co nsider include the Emergency M anagement Manual Victoria (EMMY) , the Australian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS) and any local multi-agency communicatio n or respo nse p rotocols.

Principle

Description

Confirm

Confirm the extent and nature of the emergency first to determine the priorities.

Note that usually impacts wi ll develop over time. Try to estimate timeframes for yo ur responses but balance too much a nalysis aga inst possible inaction. Don' t over-commit to one a rea, determine priorities fo r other areas which may be more critical.

Command/ Control

avoid confl ict between competing authorities and misundersta ndings about responsib ilities.

Communicate

communication results in poor coordination of resources. C onfusion and

Contingency

48 DEC EMBER 2006

Water

Use or develop contingency plans, e.g.

• bottled water, water cartage, for vulnerable groups; • supply restrictions; • bypassing or isolating systems, equipment; • cannibalising or relocating equipment.

Clearout

Evacuate people in danger i f possible. Consider removal of critical equipment, e.g . electric motors above flood levels, to allow later recovery.

Cease

Cease, stop or control the situation wherever possible at the source, e.g. remove the spill source (e.g drums) from the river as well as addressing treatment o ptions at the plant. Turn off a sewage pump if the rising main is broken or flooded.

Contain

Contain spreading or escalating to reduce damage, e.g. makeshift bund for a spill.

Cleanup

Check if the site needs to be inspected by other Agencies, then remove any pollutant or debris contained on the site . M ake the site safe by removing any temporary solutions.

Cost Capture

Capture casts a nd list for possible insurance claims.

Care & Counselling

e.g. basic cateri ng, accommodation and communication with fam ilies. Some

Rotate staff involved, they will be under extra stress. Provide additional support staff, and their immediate families, may be affected during and after the emergency and need counselling.

Customer Confidence

Ma intain customer confidence during, and after, the emergency. However, the

Chronicle

Document activities before, during and after the emergency to facilitate

CEO must be the only contact for the media .

investigation and review. This also provides proof of due diligence.

Peter Roberts is Senior Engineer, Strategy Assets and Environ ment, Go ulburn Valley Water, PO Box 185 Shepparton 3632, Email: peterr@gvwater.vic.gov.au

Check who else should be or may want to be info rmed about the situatio n. Poor uncertainty causes many failed emergency responses.

Circulate Lessons Learned

The Author

Know who is in comma nd in your group and who is managing the overall emergency response. Notify the appropriate perso ns (internal and external) and

Communicate with colleagues what happened, the lessons learned, and review existing procedures and controls in an effort to continuously improve performance.

Restore

The most difficult and longest task. Restore eq uipment to a n origina l working state.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

technical features fereed paper

FLOOD WARNING AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR SHEPPARTON-MOOROOPNA G Cropper, S Muncaster, G McKenzie, G Tierney The Shepparton-Mooroopna Flood Warning and Emergency Management project received a Commendation in the 2006 Australian Safer Communities Awards, Victoria Division (Combination Stream Pre-disaster category).

Abstract The Shepparton-Mooroopna Flood Warning and Emergency Management Project provides a holistic framework for flood forecasting, warning, response, alerting and awareness in ShepparronMooroopna. The project included a number of agency and community foc used components.

The project was funded by the Australian and Victorian Governments under the Regional Flood Mitigation Program. The project and is now full y operational. It offers significant scope for ochers to implement a similar approach to ensure com munities are made safer in the event of major flooding.

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Project Background Shepparton-Mooroopna is located at the con fluence of the Goulburn River, Broken Rivers and Seven Creeks. Major flooding has occurred in 1916, 1939, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1981 an d 1993. SheppartonMooroopna ranks fourth in Australia for the num ber of residential properties affected during a 1 in 100 year flood with a total of some 6,500 properties affected (Risk Frontiers 2005). Average annual damages due to flooding were estimated at $1.75 million (SKM 2002).

The Shepparton Mooroopna Floodplain Management (SMFM) Study (SKM 2002) was undertaken for the Greater Shepparton City Council (GSCC) and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA) in 2001-2002. Commu nity consultation during the SMFM study concluded chat none of the proposed structural mitigation measures were desirable due to the predicted adverse flooding impacts to adjacent areas. Thus, a This paper is based on presentations co the Fourth Victorian Flood Management Conference Shepparcon, Victo ria, 2005 and Floodplain Management Authorities ofNSW - 46th Annual Conference, Lism ore, NSW, 2006.

Figure 1. Specific Property Information Display.

range of non-structural mitigation measures was recommended in the SMFM study.

The Shepparron-Mooroopna Flood Warn ing and Emergency Management (SMFWEM) Project was commissioned to fu lfill the flood warning and responserelated recommendations from the earlier SMFM study. The Australian and Victorian Govern ments fund ed the project under the Regional Flood Mitigation Program. The project was undertaken on behalf of the GSCC and GBCMA by Water T echnology.

A Techn ical Steering Committee (TSC) oversaw the project direction and included members from the stakeholder agencies and organisations: Greater Shepparton City Council (Project Manager and Operations representative) , Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authori ty (CoProject Manager), Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW), Bureau of Meteorology (Bureau), Goulburn Valley Water, Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES), Department of Sustainability and Environment and Victoria Police.

The 5-MFWEM Project provided the final element in the flood risk management framework under the Victoria Flood Management Strategy, July 1998. The successful completion relied heavily on the co-operation of a number of agencies and involvement of rhe local community.

Project Scope The key project components were aimed to address both agency and community needs.

The agency components focused on clari fying and strengthening institutional arrangements, and included the fo llowing tasks: • Data collection network augmentation • Clarification of flood warning roles and respo nsibilities • Improved flood response arrangements

Detailed web-based communication to both authorities and residents.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

DECEMBER 2006 49

fill

website on an hourly basis, instead of every 5-6 hours prior to the upgrade.

fill

Clarification of flood warning roles and responsibilities

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This component focused on the development of a Flood Warning Service Charter. The Charter clarified roles and responsibilities between the Bureau of Meteorology and Goulburn-Murray Water.

Discussions facili tated during the project also led co the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between che Bureau and G-MW which improved data sharing arrangements and improved operational efficiency.

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Figure 2. Traffic Hazard flood identification display.

• Flood information management system The community components were designed to enhance community preparedness and awareness, and included che fo llowing casks: • Community consul cat ion • Community flood warning information brochure • Properry-speci fie flood charts • Community telephone alerting sysrem Further derails of the above project components are provided in che following sections.

Agency Components Data collection network augmentation Reliable flood predictions rely on the collection of real time rainfall and streamflow data. A number of existing rainfall and streamflow gauges in the upstream contributing catchments were upgraded to real-rime radio telemetry to enable improved data access for che Bureau, G-MW and the public via the Bureau's website. Further, several new rainfall and streamflow gauges were installed to provide improved spatial coverage of che data collection network and to improve flood forecasting on the Goulburn River at Arcadia Downs upstream of Shepparton.

Strategic planning for the data collection network augmentation (DCNA) included all stakeholder agencies involved in flood management, waterway operations and emergency response for che SheppartonMooroopna area. This enabled valuable input and evaluation of key elements of che upgrade including the best location for the new river level gauge on the Goulburn River upstream from Shepparton.

50 DECEMBER 2006

Water

The extensive planning for the DCNA request for quotation, individual site specifications and detailed radio path testing facilitated by the Bureau greatly assisted the hydrographic contractors, Thiess Services, to successfully install and commission the new and upgraded sites within budget and ahead of time.

The sites were fully reseed within a matter of days when significant rain occurred in the area in lace August 2005 triggering flood warnings fo r the Goulburn River, Seven Creeks and Broken River. The improved availability of the more frequently updated rainfall and river level data was immediately evident with che most recent data being available to the Bureau as it o ccurred and to the public via the Bureau's

In addition co clarifying flood warning arrangements the Mo U has enabled the Bureau to receive some of G-MW's river and diversion fl ow data to improve their flood fo recasting models downstream of Goulburn Weir. In turn G-MW will now be able to access che upgraded river level data to help streamline their data access requirements and improve their environmental flow and river regulation operations.

The charter resolved a long standing confusion over agencies roles since che reform in the public water sector in the mid l 990's. Further the charter is che fi rst of its type in Victoria. Clear definition and understanding of roles and responsibilities provides the relevant agencies with an effective and efficient approach in che delivery of flood fo recasting and warning services. The Bureau of Meteorology Victorian flood warning group proposes to use the charter as a template to define service delivery requirements in ocher regions within V ictoria.

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Figure 3. Drainage Penstock Flood Operation Status Report.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

examples of Floodzone's functionality are shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

FLOOD RISK INFORMATION FOR 14 FLOODWAY STREET, KIALLA WARNING: Your property may bo flooded by the Goulbum River, Broken River (Brokon..Saven Dominant Flood) or combination (Neutral Flood)

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Floodzone's system architectu re is a hybrid approach consisting of both www-based interfaces and client-side GIS software.

Floodzone was developed with nonproprietary software to facilitate rapid and affordable adoption by ocher agencies.

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Bo prepared to activate your Personal Flood Action Plan If predicted gauge heights are higher than Indicated, or vehicular access to your local area 1s threatened

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Bureau of Meteorology Flood Warnings-, gauge !,eights & retat.ci lnforrnatiOn:

•

Explanatory Notes:

•) Thec:rilicalp,veheighblhownllbovthMbeendlr\o,,edfrtirnhblll...tiltdata.-.d

Local Radio • Tunetoofflcial em«gencyradio,\BC97.7FMOI' c:ommerda!radlo~.3 FM or98.5 FM

•

S!ofms and Floods: P) 132 500 website: WWW 191 r,c; goy au

Greater Shepp.arton City Counell • Fk>od dominiinoe Information, latoe.1 gauges heights: webalte: WWW Octl lfK&heoof090 ogm tu or p) 5832 9700

Several agencies in Victoria are currencly exploring opportunities for the use of the interface in ocher regional areas (Muncasrer, 2006). A web-based flood mapping interface was developed with on-line spatial and temporal flood information (flood maps) to provide response agencies with understanding of flood behaviour to aid rhe response planning.

Further details on Floodzone can be obtained from the authors .

N

SES

JY

Community Components

Figure 4. Sample Dual Gauge Property-Specific Flood Chart.

Community consultation Improved flood response arrangements

Under the Emergency Management Act 1986, each Victorian local government authority is required co prepare a Municipal Emergency Management Plan. Within ch is plan, sub-plans are form ulated for major threats. This compo nent refined and revised the municipal flood sub-plan The flood sub-p lan provides a comprehensive framework of response actions for the GSCC and VICSES. T he revised sub-plan represents a significan t improvement in the co-ordi nation and effectiveness of flood response planning.

VICSES North Ease Region intends using the Shepparton-Mootoopna flood sub-plan as a blueprint for ocher flood prone comm unities in the north east of Victoria.

W hile the new Municipal Emergency Management Plan Flood Sub-Plan was based on ocher current best practice flood plans it introduced several new con cepts char have been embraced by the Greater Shepparton City Council. The Flood SubPlan was forma lly endorsed and accepted at a fu ll meeti ng of the Municipal Emergency Management Planning committee in April 2006.

Flood information management system

Curren tly, flood information is available from a suite of hard copy flood inundation maps. T hese flood maps show flood extents, depths, flow, velocities and affected proprieties for a range of flood magnitudes.

To facilitate the use of chis available flood information for fl ood response a web based flood mapping interface was developed.

The web based flood mapping interface, Floodzone, builds on an existing interface

developed under an EMA project.

Significa nt enhancements, incl uding flood hazard along roads, flood affected property listi ngs and identification of GSCC infrastructure at risk, provides rhe GSCC and VICSES with a valuable insight in the co-ordination of a flood respo nse. Some

A community reference group was fo rmed to provide direct feedback ro the project ream. This group met five times during the project and provided valuable input to the refi nement of vario us project outcomes.

The five comm unity reference group (CRG) meetings attracted between 20 and 25

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Journal of the Australian Water Association

QUALITY ENDORSED COMPANY AS/NZS ISO 9001 STANDARDS AUSTRALIA Licence no: 1628

Water

DECEMBER 2006 51

community representatives, with a core group of about ten people attending most meetings.

The public response to the meetings and addi tional one-on-one d iscussio n sessions were very well received and prompted the concept for the "Spreadi ng the Word" conference paper (Crapper, 2006).

Community flood warning information brochure Th is brochure outlined the general flood behaviour in Sh epparton-Mooroopna, highlighted a number of helpful measures for residents to reduce flood damages, and source of flood information during an event.

At the ou tset of the proj ect it was envisaged that a 20 page high quality colour Flood Response G uidelines brochure was required.

A similar format had been produced for previous scudies. Following input from the Technical Steeri ng Committee it was d ecided chat a new simpler easy-toreproduce format was the better way to proceed with the flood brochure. The concept for the new b rochure used a si mple double-sided A3 sheet fo lded to form a four page brochure. The content was based on some elemen ts of previous Flood Response Guidelines.

Property-specific flood charts Providing residents with fl ood informatio n fo r their specific property was seen as a sign ificant component in improving community awareness and preparedness.

A p roperty specifi c flood chart was developed co link a flood level from the most relevant nearby streamflow gauge to the flood level thresh old at each property.

The threshold levels related to when flooding was likely to commence across the allotment and above the floor level. T his informat ion enables a resident to assess their flood risk by comparing the forecast flood level with the threshold level fo r their property. A total of around 7,500 unique flood charts were developed.

T he initial concept of the property-specific flood charts was based on a limited number of flood charts already in circulat ion elsewhere for municipal emergency management and community awareness programs. The major d ifference with the flood charts fo r the Shepparcon-Mooroopna area was that about one third of the properties affected needed to cater for more than one key flood gauge. This involved an innovative analytical approach to determine dual critical gauge levels using all three types of fl ood scenarios undertaken during the hydraulic modelling and flood mapping.

The distinguishing feature of the Shepparton-Mooroopna property-specific

52

DECEMBER 2006

Water

flood ch arrs chat makes chem unique is chat they include the critical gauge level(s) when flooding of the allotment and floor level can be expected to commence. Benchmarking elsewhere in Australia and overseas has been unable to find equivalent property-specific fl ood charts chat have included such individual p roperty specifi c flood informatio n.

Figure 4 shows an example of a dual gauge property specifi c flood chart.

Community telephone alerting system Alerti ng residents co an impeding flood aid s in communi ty response. Residents were asked to participate in a telephone alerting system . The alerting system, during a flood, would provide flood warning and information to residents via a recorded telephone messages based on the Bureau's flood warning advice. Development of the community telephone alerti ng system (CTAS) was assisted by input from the Maribyrnong C ity Council who had previous experience in implementing a similar system.

The community telephone alerting system builds on the similar app roach employed in Benalla and along the Maribyrnong River in Melbou rne. The Shepparton-Mooroopna telephone alerting system is the largest application of the voiceREACH system in Australia for flood alerting purposes. The system will also provide va rious agencies with a direct avenue for community notification of other nacural disasters.

Conclusion As noted previo usly the average annual flood damages in Shepparton-Mooroopna were esti mated at $1.75 million (SKM 2002) .

Research indicates chat reduction in flood damages can b e realised by improved flood warning and response. Through chis project a significant reduction in damage and communi ty anxiety will be realised. The provision of the flood p roperty charts and in formation b rochure aids in the com munity awareness of the potential flood damages and dangers. With continuing education over the coming years, the level of co mmunity awareness, and in cum, the community's ability to reduce their own fl ooding risks will grow.

There is significant scope for ochers to implement a similar approach to ensure communi ties are made safer in the event of major fl ooding. In particular, the fo llowing aspects are seen as applicable to ocher flood warning projects: • Com munity consultation model has been used successfully in many localities with many benefits gained in engaging the com munity early in the p roject.

Journal of the Australia n Water Association

• Flood Warning Service Charter could be used as a generic template for the Bureau of Meteorology to use anywhere a flood warning service is required.

• Flood Sub-Plan has been produced using best practice components integrati ng various innovations developed during the project.

Any municipal ity with a flood risk management requirement could easily implement the sub-plan format and content.

• Community flood warning information brochure is easily adaptable for use in any mu nicipal community fl ood awareness program.

• Property-specific flood chart concept can be used by any town or locality chat has a flood information property (FIP) database consisting of ground levels, floor levels, flood levels for a suitable range of incremental flood dep ths and a suitable reference flood gauge or gauges.

• voiceREACH alerting system is commercially available from Premiere Global Services at http://dacacomm. premiereglobal.com/au /en/ • Floodzone web based fl ood information system is available for any town or locality chat has a suite of hydraulic modelling flood surfaces and digital terrain data available.

The Authors Geoff Cropper is a Senior Engineer, Water Technology, with considerable experience in hydrology and flood warning, e-mail gcc@wacech.com.au. Steve Muncaster is an Associate, Water Technology, with extensive experience in flood plain management projects, e-mail: sh m@wacech.com.au.

Water Technology Pcy Led is a specialised consultancy offering expert services in the fields of surface water, coastal and environmental science and engineering.

Web: www.watech.com.au. Greg McKenzie is the Manager, Environment and Suscainabilicy, G reater Shepparton City Council. Guy Tierney is che Floodp lain Manager, Goulburn Broken Catch ment M anagement Authority.

References Crapper G, Muncaster S, Tierney G (2006) Spreading rhe word - community awareness and alerting for Shepparton and Mooroopna.

Fourth Victorian Flood Management Conference - Shepparton, Victoria, October 11 - 14, 2005.

Crapper G, Muncaster S, Tierney G (2006) Spreading the word - community awareness and alerting for Shepparton and Mooroopna.

Floodplain Management Authorities ofNSW 46th Annual Conference, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2006.

Muncaster S, Womersley T, Maclaren G, C rapper G, Tierney G (2006) Use of webbased flood mapping during emergency response operations. Floodplain Management

Authorities ofNSW - 46th Annual Conference, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2006.

NUSEWERS, BRISBANE WATER'S LOW INFILTRATION SYSTEM A Krumins, P Gaw Abstract

T he sewerage system was installed using traditional materials and installation practice. Rubber-ring jointed vitrified clay pipes were laid in straight sections between maintenance holes. Indeed, the most important inspection criterion was the straightness of the pipes; the joint integrity and warerrighrness of the system seemed to be only a secondary consideration.

Wastewater networks have nor changed in over I 00 years and rhe benefirs of new marerials and rechnologies, including "NO DIG", have nor been fully realised.

The Brisbane Water solution, NuSewers, has bee n developed in conjunction with Vinidex, over five years of trials. N uSewers elimin ates rubber ring joints by utilising fully welded polyethylene (PE) pipes and fitti ngs.

A man-entry main tenance hole was required at every change of di rection. T he spacing of these holes was governed by the maintenance equipment available at rhe time. Inspection of sewers was carried our using reflected light and mirrors, and pipelines were cleaned by sending people into rhe maintenance holes using cane and bamboo rods.

The system can be applied to both trench and trenchless installations using directional drill ing, and offers opportunities nor only for greenfield sites but also for the replacement of ex isting sewers and installation in built-up and environmentally sensitive areas.

A low maintenance, tree

History

root free, sewerage system.

Brisbane was sewered only quite recently in comparison with other major cities around the wo rld. It was not until 1962 char Brisbane City Council embarked on a 12year works program to sewer the entire city.

Problems Facing Sewer Systems As sewers age they in variably deteriorate and even tually lead to joint or strucrural defects, usually resulting from poor constructio n techniques or unexpected load ing condi tions. Srormwarer and

This is an ed ited version of the paper presented ar che No Dig Down Under Conference, Brisbane, December 2006.

groundwater can infiltrate rhe system, either through leaking maintenance holes, cracked pipes, pipe joint fail ure or faulty property connections. Tree roots can penetrate the fau lty joints, resulting in sewer chokes, increased maintenance and increased sewage overflows and treatment costs.

To allow for infiltration of water into the sewerage system during rain fall events, sewer systems are traditionally designed (from 100 years ago) to have a capacity of five times the average dry weather flow.

This approach virtually accepts infiltration as a problem too hard to reso lve and results in a sewerage system operati ng ar well below capacity for most of the time.

OSH requirements for man entry into the sewer system have made it increasingly co mplicated and essential safety equipment such as tri pods, harnesses, breathing apparatus and gas detection monitors only serve to highlight the fact char man entry is also expensive.

New Technology When the main author was serving as Operations Manager for Brisbane Water, he was faced with an annual maintenance bill of some $2-3M, and felt strongly char there

5th ASR National Workshop: Management of Aquifer Recharge: Storage and Treatment Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) ~ Storm/Waste-water to aquifer ~

in wet season

Recovery from aquifer in dry season

Cmfinmg lu)cr ;

,, . ".

, \ljl11kr

.

.

Aquifer Storage and Recove,y (ASR) is the process of injecting water into aquifers via a well for storage and reuse. It is one of a number of methods for managing aquifer recharge.

It can. be used as a means of stori11g, treati11g and distributi11g water such as drinking water, stonnwater and reclaimed ware,; which may othenvise be wasted.

COURSE OBJECTIVE: The course will be led by Dr Peter Dillon and include colleagues from CS!RO research, ASR implementation professionals and ASR industry users, Mr Colin Pitman, Dr Paul Pavelic, Dr Mike Dudding, Dr Joanne Vandezalme. This course will increase participants understanding of the issues involved with injecting water into aquifers for storage and reuse, and address the practical steps in siti ng, designing, and implementing projects, from commissioning to operation and maintenance. The course is designed for scienti sts and engineers from: water utilities, local government, developers, consulting firms, environmental regulators, catchment management authorities, EPA's and natural resource managers.

ASR can: • provide the cheapest new source of water • provide low cost delivery • offset the costs of the sustainable return of treated wastewater lo the environment • offset the costs of detention storages for flood protection in urbanising catchments • put wastewater to productive use • replenish depleted aquifers • develop emergency water supplies When: Wednesday 2nd - Thursday 3rd May 2007 Where: Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise, 22 View Ave, Surfers Paradise, QLD Course Fees: $1300 (plus GST). Fees include notes, tutoring, and course catering including morning and afternoon teas and lunches.

For more i11for111atio11 contact the CGS Office: Phone: 6188201 5632 Fax: 6188201 5635 Email: cgs@gro1111dwater.com.au Web: ww111.grou11d1vater.co111.aulshort-courses.ht111l

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 53

muse be a better way to build sewers by harnessing new technology. He had the vision of a low maintenance, tree root free , sewerage system.

Table 1.

Developments in pipeline inspection and maintenance technology had rendered many traditional design and operation philosoph ies redundant. Today cleaning can be carried out using jet-rodding equipment and p ipes can be fu lly surveyed during construction and operation using closed circuit television and now digital cameras. Mose inspection and maintenance requirements can now be fulfilled from che surface without the need for man entry.

FLOW ESTIMATION

le is now possible co introduce bends into the system (both horizontal and vertical) instead of complicated joints. For cleaning, small diameter m aintenance shafts can be installed in place of man holes.

Polymer pipe and fittings using materials such as polyethylene can provide a fully welded system with fewer joints than traditional systems so that infiltratio n in the main system can be virtually zero.

The o pporrun icy came when the rapid expans ion of Brisbane's population necessitated development of new green field suburbs.

NUSEWERS

PIPE

MIN PIPE SIZES

HYDRAULIC DESIGN Property connections MIN GRADES

ALIGNMENT

MAINTENANCE STRUCTURES

MS CONFIGURATIONS

Brisbane Water NuSewers When Brisbane Water set about addressing the problems and coses associated with defects in the gravity sewer system, ic highlighted the following key objectives: • Reduce the number of sewer chokes;

DESIGN CRITERIA SHEET

Material PE 80 B / PE 100 Stiffness SOR 21 Nusewer Design flow = "d' x sanitary flow + ground water and rainfall induced flow = ("d" x 180) + 30 + 360 UEP/day EP 600 1200 3000 12000 "d" 3.7 3.2 2.7 2.2 PVCNC = 1200 UEP/day Property Connections ON 110 - Max 2 Res. Connections ON 160 - Other connections ON 160 Retie. Sewers Design n = 0.0128 Max 70% depth at design flow Max length Property connections

25m ON 110 - 1 in 60 ON 160 - 1 in 80 Main sewers ON 160 -1 in 200 ON 250 - 1 in 300 ON 315 - 1 in 400 EP < 20 -1 in 100 End of Line EP 20 to 50 -1 in 150 Max 2 bends between MS's Horizontal 1 SRB at MS + LRB 2 LRB's Min Radius SRB 750 mm LRB ON 160- 5 m.

LRB ON 250 - 7m.

Vertical Max grade 30% depth> 1.Sm Max of 3 LRB's bends - min Radius Sm Compound bends One Compound LRB adjacent to MS Max spacing - MS 120 m - MH 480 m Max depth to invert - 5 m Inlets max 3 inlets Connections at MS invert smaller inlets common obverts Max grade of inlet to MS 10 % Connections to riser Max. one ON 160 sewer Max. two Property connections Flow entry Limits Combined Inflow 22 Us 90 Lateral 12 Us 45 Lateral 22 Us To be installed with ON 110 Connections 300-700 inside property

° °

SEDIMENT TRAPS BULKHEADS TESTING

Where the grade > 15% Bulkheads spacing at 100/ (Grade%) in m.

CCTV all Sewers Vacuums test all sewers and Poo pits.

• Reduce/eliminate rubber ring joints; • Reduce che number of maintenance holes; • Introduce horizontal and vertical bends where possible;

• Flexible pipe; • Lengths of 6m or 12m, thus reducing the n umber of joints;

• Minimise the number of man en try poin ts;

• White internal pipe surface assist ing

• Introduce maintenance shafts;

CCTV inspection

• And aim for minimal infil trat ion.

• Large radius ben ds can be formed in situ

A whole new philosophy to gravity sewer design was required, hence the name NuSewers.

in the horizontal and vertical plane;

Vinidex Sewertech polyethylene (PE) pipe was selected as the R & D material for NuSewers as it offered the fo llowing advantages

• Reduction in the number of bulkheads required for stabil ity o n steep slopes.

The difficulty was chat thermal welding of

PIE by hot air gun was not acceptable in the fi eld, even though quality control could be achieved in workshop situations.

T he answer was in the eleccrofusion welding kits sup plied by Plasson P/L. H ear is applied to a jacket by electric current for 80 seconds, and t he joint allowed to cool for an other 3 minutes.

Vinidex P/E pipeline being carried onto site.

There has been n o reco rd of fai lure of any of these join ts.

54 DECEMBER 2006 Water Journal of the Australian Water Association

Plasson electrofusion kit in action.

T he next advance was to use the SmartStream Technology Mai n tenan ce shaft, with the trade n ame of Poo Pi t TM, instea d of manho les. The Poo P it™ is manufactured in a so fter P/E but in a sph erical shape to provide adequate stren gth co resist grou nd pressure a nd is strong en ough for gravity sewers.

In che worksh op each Poo- Pit™ is marked to suit its specific location, the riser, DN250 is welded o n and the requ ired entry holes cored out and stubs heatwelded in place.

Maintenance shaft being set up in workshop.

T hen on-sire rhe pipes are welded to rhe stubs by rhe elecrrofusion kit.

Ma intenance shafts are generally installed at 120 m spacing, ar a maximum depth of7 metres.

Maintenance manholes are only required fo r co mplex sewer junctions and at strategic locations for the removal of miscellaneous items chat occasionally enter rhe sewer system.

M aintenance shaft in place.

• Humes WATER SOLUTIONS

Rain Vault'" - 5 KL to 5 ML Humes rainwater reuse systems Incorporate modular precast concrete storage components together with specialised pre-treatment filters, calmed Inlets, siphoned overflow outlets and floating Intakes.

Humegard "' - Gross Pollutant Trap

Humeceptor "'

Captures and retains gross litter, debris,

Captures and retains fine suspended solids, hydrocarbons, petroleum products, heavy metals, oil and grease.

vegetation and organics, medium and

coarse sediment.

• Large volumetric capacity • Low operational velodtles • Litter capture at high flow • Very low headloss • Performance proven In field • 50 year design life

• Extensive performance data under field conditions • Retention of 80% TSS lndudlng putldes < 60pm • 98% hydrocarbon capture • Very low operational velocity < 0,007m/s • Market leader - 20,000 units world\ylde

· Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DEC EMBER 2006 55

Design Criteria These have been embodied into a detailed Specification, which is available at hrep:/ /www.b risbane.qld. gov. au/bccwr/li 68 5I nusewers_desi gnandconstructio nspecifica cion_v2 .pdf. Table 1 is a summary design specification.

Sewer flow can generally be separated into components: • Dry Weather Flow; • Rainfall Dependent Flow.

Dry Weather Flow The Average Dry Weather Flow (ADWF) in Brisbane is taken as 210 L/EP/day. Th is comprises a sanitary flow (SF) of 180L/EP/day and a non-rainfall dependent ground water infiltration (GWI nonrainfall dependent ground water flow) of 30 L/EP/ day.

The Peak Dry Weather Flow (PDWF) = Peaking facto r ("d") x SF+ GWI. (where d varies from 2.0 co 9.1 depending on che gross developed area) .

Rainfall Dependent Flow

Although the PE sewer system will significantly reduce ground water infiltration, so me inflow may occur from undetected construction defects and from custo mer drains which at chis stage may not be welded PE. The Rainfall Dependent Flow (RDF) component is to be taken as 360 L/EP/day which is approximately half of the current wet weather component.

syste m (fats are a major cause of sewer chokes).

As builders and home owners are made aware of the presence of the crap and its function, it serves as a deterrent.

The lessons from these trials were: T hird parry flushing of gravel into the system caused one blockage in the DN 110 pipe.

Rodding points did not prove suitable for high pressure water jetting and have been retained only at the upstream end of the system but can facilitate unblocking by the new sonic-wave induction technology.

Jee-codding is now co nducted through the maintenance shafts, using a special cool to guide che rod around the radius at the base.

Junctions In the Forest Lake trials shop-welded Ypieces were used for house connections. bur more development was needed to provide a junction assembly chat was not only suited co open trench co nstruction but also co trenchless construction.

In conjunction with Vin idex, Plasson Australia developed a 45° eleccrofusion saddle chat can be installed duri ng construction or retrofitted at a later date.

The saddle is initially held in place with a stainless steel clamping assembly and then eleccrofused to the polyethylene sewer main. The main is then drilled through the saddle.

Design Flow

The Design flow (DF) shall be taken as the su m of the Peak Dry Weather Flow and the Rainfall Dependent Flow. This represents an approximate design flow reduction of 20%.

Plasson 45 degree saddle kit in action.

Early Trials The N usewers system was first trialled at the Forest Lake development, in the western suburbs of Brisbane. T he initial system used ON 110 Sewercech PE pipe and fittings and introduced horizontal and vertical curves. No maintenance manholes were used, instead rodding points were placed at regular intervals for cleaning pu rposes.

A sediment trap was installed in each house connection at the boundary between the private and Council property, the location where up co 80% of the known problems occur. T he primary functions of this crap are co allow che detection of material chat may have been introduced during construction, and to identify the source of fats chat enter che 56 DECEMBER 2006

Water

Water Advertising To reach the decision-makers in the water field, you should consider advertising in Water Journal, the official journal of Australian Water Association.

For information on advertising rotes, please contact Brion Roult at Hallmark Editions, Tel (03) 8534 5000 or email brault.rault@halledit.com.au

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Testing Welds are reseed for lO0kPa hydrostatic pressure.

All installed components of che NuSewer system and property connections are vacuum tested by applyi ng a negative pressure of approximately 45kPa which must be held at no less than 43kPa for 20 minutes T he system is also inspected by CCTV after construction to ensure that the bore is clear and that there are no obvious construction defects.

Cost Savings The NuSewers system offers real cost savings in design, operation and maintenance through reduced groundwater infiltration during rainfall events, pipe sizi ng and lower pumping and treatment costs. Developers welcome the lower construction coses.

Conclusion This paper describes che development of the Brisbane Water NuSewers concept from the early trials in 2000, to the publication of the Brisbane Water N uSewers design and construction specification in 2006 and che benefits of chis 21st century approach to triple bottom line.

NuSewers are designed on che basis chat inspection will be undertaken with CCTV equipment and blockages cleared using jet rodding equipment. Installation can be carried out using open trench methods or trenchless methods . This approach allows the sewer alignment co include both horizontal and vertical curves, thus minim isi ng che number of manh oles associated with a traditional sewer system. Over a 1000 premises have been connected co dace with no problems.

Acknowledgements Brisbane Water read il y acknowledges the full cooperation of che manufacturers, particularly Ian Paterson and Gary Gell of Vin idex's Brisbane o ffice, and Mark Tibbi cs of Plasson Austra lia for the developmen t of the 45% saddle kit.

The Authors Andy Krumins is Manager Strategy and Planning, Policy and Innovation email Andy.krumins@brisbane.qld.gov.au,

Peter Gaw is is Senior Technical Engineer, both with Brisba ne W ater.

efereed paper

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY FOR PROPOSED KURNELL DESALINATION PLANT D Raha Abstract Non-rai nfall dependent options such as desalination have been plan ned to provide for long term 'growth ' and 'securiry' for Sydney's water supply, particularly in the face of drought and climate change. Inirial site screening process and subsequent detailed environ mencal impact assessment, concluded char when the necessiry arose a desalination plant could be built on the Kurnell Peninsula without significanc environmental impact provided the commicced management and mitigation measures were adopted.

Introduction Sydney's surface water supply will continue to be the domi nant sustai nable and lo ng term supply fo r Sydney. However, complete reliance on rai n fed supplies will make ic vulnerable to meet Sydney's normal water needs for growth and to provide security of supplies in che fu ture. This would be further exacerbated by severe drough ts and uncertainties of climate change in recent times. Consequencly targeted investment in a diverse portfolio of options such as groundwater and desalination is proposed.

The 2006 1 and 20042 Metropolitan Water Plans identified desalination as one of several water supply options. Seawater desalination has the abiliry to produce potable water quickly in a time of water shortage. However desalination is still a coscly op tion, with a capital cost for a 125 ML/d desalination plane esti mated at $ 1.3 bill ion in 2005, with annual operating costs of $38 mill ion/annum. With full cost recovery chis would impact on an average household an additional $60 per annum 3.

The decision was made to hold off construction but to plan so as to be ready to build a 125 ML/d desalination plane in the event chat water sto rages fall to 30% of capacity.

P rel iminary site screening process resulted in I 4 sires bei ng investigated usi ng predefi ned sire selection criteria, with che Kurnell site of 44.5 ha selected as the opti mum sire for a desalination plant. One

Figure l. An artist's impression of a 125 ML/day Kurnell Desa lination Plant.3 component of the planning was to study the Environ ment Impact Assessment (EA) for the proposed site on the Kurnell Peninsula, abutting Botany Bay.

Whenever signalled, the project can proceed without significant environmental impact.

Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Kurnell Desalination Plant (KDP) The Sydney Water Corporation (SWC) applied to the Department of Planning under the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EP&A) Act 1979 NSW fo r the construction, operation and maintenance of a desalination plane to be constructed in modular stages from 125 ML/d up to 500 ML/d together with associated infras tructure to connect to the existing water distribution system. The Min ister for Planni ng declared KDP to be a critical

infrastructure project under Pare 3A of the Act, with SWC to submit a concept plan for KDP along with an environmental assessment.

The scope for EA is confined to the desalination plant, the seawater intakes and the sea water concentrate ouclecs for a plant up to a capaciry of 500 ML/d.

The EA scarred with a Planni ng Focus Meeti ng in August 2005 and concluding with the Minister for Planni ng approving the project and setting conditions.

Energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Technology choice: The two most used and proven desalination technologies are reverse osmosis (RO) and thermal discillacion.

Both processes produce drinking water meeting Australian Drinking Water Standards, but the study concl uded chat reverse osmosis is preferable because the most efficient thermal desalination uses three times more energy than RO, and the cost of water is twice that of RO.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 57

The 500 ML/d RO plant would have a peak electricity demand of 100 MW with 950,000 tonnes carbon dioxide- equivalent GHG per annum. However, SWC has made a commitment to reduce and/ or offset the greenhouse emissions for the desalination plant by 50 per cent through energy recovery devices, energy efficient equipment and the purchase of renewable energy (wind), low GHG emission energy (gas)3.

Chlonne to control m:artrwa i,owth

Polymer and coagulant

IFl>Cl,l to enhanco ooaguatlon and removal of partldes

H:zSO, and ~ prwcmt scaling

tto

An artist's impression of the proposed plant is given in Figure 1.

Ekwated sainity soawator OnckJdlng anti-sealant)

Reverse Osmosis Desalination Process

"'

Acidic

In the seawater reverse osmosis desali nation process (Figure 2): (i) Seawater is pumped from the ocean through screens and then pre-treated by coagulation with ferric chloride, sedimentation and filrrarion. Filters will be regularly backwashed and wastewater from the fil ters will be directed back to the ocean. (ii) The seawater then passes through twopass reverse osmosis membranes, Desalinated water produced is normally in the range of 40 to 45% of the feedwarer flow, and between 55 and 60% is discharged as reject concentrate. (iii) The desalinated water will then be treated with chloramine, fl uoride, lime and carbon dioxide to comply with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) 2004. (iv) the drinking water will then be delivered to a clear water tank before being pumped to the existing water distribution network via a system of tunnels and/or pipelines; and (v) T he reject concentrate, together with backwash water from the pre-treatment fil ters, will be discharged to the ocean via an outlet designed to maximise dispersion.

Characteristics of Discharge An inventory of indicative waste streams generated at a reverse osmosis desalination plant like KDP, is shown in Figure 2.

Wastewater from the desali nation plant will co nsist mainly of elevated salinity seawater, backwash water from the pre-treatment filters and from the cleaning of the reverse osmosis membranes, which are collectively referred to as seawater concentrate.

Chemical storage

Chemicals used in the process, as in all water treatment plants, include fe rric chlori de, polyelecrrolyre, sulphuric acid, antiscalant, caustic soda, lime, hydrof1uorosilicic acid, sodium bisulfite, 58 DECEMBER 2006

Water

cÂťtorgorlt

Auorido for tCIGth Chlorine <lsinfectlon

Soawator concontr.ite <i.,chargG to Ta$m:an Sea

Figure 2. Process Flow and Indicative Waste Streams from reverse osmosis desalination plant. 3

carbon dioxide, ci tric acid, sodium hypoch lorire, biocide and ammonia solution . Their storage and transportation wi ll be in accordance with Australia n and NSW regulations. Any adverse impacts from chemi cals storage are highly unlikely.

Noise generation

KDP will comply with NSW DEC Noise Guidelines4 during its operation.

Preliminary noise modelling predicted that the worst case Laeq (15 minu te) noise level contributions from the project are likely to be less than 30 dBA. Any adverse impacts on Kurnell residents from operational noise emissions from KDP are highly unlikely.

Terrestrial ecology

Existing vegetation communities Past vegetation mapping on the site has identified fou r endangered ecological com munities listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (T SC Act) NSW and these are: (i) Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplains (SSFCF); (i i) Sydney Freshwater Wetlands (SFW); (iii) Kurnell Dune Forest (KDF); and (iv) Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest (SOFF).

The current ex tent of these com muni ties is mapped in Figure 3.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

The majority of the endangered ecological communities remaining on the sire have been retained in a conservation area of around 15 hectares to be retained within the desalination plant sire; to be rehabili tated and maintained to protect endangered ecological communities and habitat for threatened species. No threatened flora species have been recorded on the site either during a flora survey or from derailed studies in the past. The desalination plant will not have a significant impact on threatened species, communities or populations.

Hydrological changes, runoff and sedimentation Of the 30 hectares portion of the KDP site char is likely to be developed, approximately 20 hectares will be impervious surfaces, wh ich increase the volume and intensity of stormwarer runoff and prevent groundwater infiltration.

Changes to natural hydro logical processes may limit groundwater recharge and likely to at least partially impact the ecosystems at SS FCF, KDF, SFW and SOFF. Stringent management measures, such as erosion and sedimentation controls and groundwater recharge measures, will be implemented. The Ramsar wetlands area will not be impacted.

refereed paper

Threatened species and endangered ecological communities (8 Port TSC Test) DEC D raft Guidelines for Threatened Species Assessment Ouly 2005) were used for assessing potential impacts on threatened species to comply with the requirements of the EP&A Act (NSW) and the EPBC Act (Commonwealth).

Comprehensive surveys of the proposed sire and the immediate surroundings have bee n undertaken over a number of years (Gunninah 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005a, 20056). Consequently, 8 Part TSC Tests fo r chis project were prepared for species and endange red ecological commun ities listed under the TSC Act chat have been recorded on sire e.g.

SSFCF, KDF, SFW, SOFF, Grey-headed Flying Fox (GHFF) and Green and Golden Bell Frog (GGB F). Given char the si te is currently highly modified and th e most intact vegetation will be incorporated into conservation areas and char managemen t measmes will be implemen ted to mitigate/ manage poten tial impacts, it is co nsidered unlikely chat the project will have a sign ificant impact on any threatened species or their habitat or endangered ecological commun ities at the site.

Moreover, SSFCF, SOFF and SFW are not at the limits of their distribution at the site and occu r in ocher pares ofNSW (NSW Scientific Committee 2000, 2004) . GGBF and GHFF (NSW Scientific Committee 2001) are known to occur in several part of NSW. However, Kurnell Dune Forest

C

D

Con.servation eree boundary

am:=======::::52011m

.a_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Disturbed lend Kumell Dune Forest Sydney Freshwater Wetlands Swarrp Oak Floo~lain Forest Sydney Scleroph''/11 Foll!.st on Coastel Floodpleins

Figure 3. Vegetation communities prese nt on the KDP site .3

(KDF) occurs only within the Sutherland Shire and City of Rockdale and is therefore near the limits of its discribmion at the site (NSW Scientific Comm ittee 1999). There are no areas of critical habitat present on the sire.

...,..,

Indigenous heritage Archaeological evidence suggests chat Aboriginal people have been using the Kurnell Peninsula fo r at lease the lase 5,000 years. A search of the NSW DEC Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHI MS) within a 6km by 3km area around the KD P site returned 56 site record ings on the Kurnell Pen insula and indicative locations of known sires in the vicinity of the desali nation plane site are shown in the conservation area, which will be retained (F igure 4).

A detailed archaeological investigation of the desalination plane site failed to locate any indigenous heritage items or pl aces.

There is unlikely to be any impacts on items of indigenous heritage.

Native title and place A search of the National Native Ti tle Tribunal Native Title Register conducted in August 2005 indicates chat there are no current Native Title Claims (Registered or Unregistered) fo r the Sutherland Local Government Area. _____ _ ___, .,_ N

Figure 4. Indicat ive locations of known indigenous sites on the Ku rnel l Penin sula. 3

Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) Under the Environmental Planning and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 (Com monwealth), approval from the

Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

DECEMBER 2006 59

Commonwealch Minister for the Environment and Heritage is required for an action that is: • likely to have a significant impact on a 'matter of national environmental significance (MNES)': (i) World Heritage Properties; (ii) National Heritage Places; (iii) Wetlands of International Significance; (iv) Commonwealth Marine Areas; (v) Threatened Ecological Communities; (vi) T hreatened Species; (vii) Migratory Species; and (viii) Nuclear Actio ns; and/or • carried out on Commonwealch land and is likely to have a significant impact on the environ ment; or • carried out outside of Co mmonwealch land and is likely to have a significant impact on the enviro nment on Commonwealth land; or • carried out by the Commonwealth Government.

Figure 5. Intake and outlet locations. 3

Matters of NES potentially relevant to the Kurnell desalination project are:

On 8 November 200 5, the Commonwealth M inister for Environment and Heritage advised SWC chat KDP is not likely to have a sign ificant impact on any of the matters protected under the EPBC Act and is therefore not a controlled action. Approval is not required under the EPBC Act.

• National Heritage Place (Kurnell Peninsula H eadland, Cape Solander Drive, Kurnell): The construction and operations of the KDP and the associated infrastructure wi ll not significantly impact on the national heritage val ues of the Kurnell Peninsula; • Wetlands oflnternational Significance: Towra Point Nature Reserve is a Ramsar Wetlands; given the water management measures stated in the EA 3, it is unlikely that there would be a significant impact on the Towra Poin t Nature Reserve and Towra Point Aquatic Reserve; • Commonwealth Marine Areas (from 3 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles fro m the coast): As the project will extend a maximum of approximately 400m offshore and mod elling of the dilution and dispersion of the discharge indicates that Commonwealth marine areas will not be affected; • Nationally listed threatened ecological communities, threatened species (e.g. Greyheaded Flying Fox and Green and Golden Bell Frog) - No significant impact; • M igratory species Qapan-Australia and China- Australia Migratory Birds Agreement): Neither the KDP site nor the associated infrastructure will be constructed in h abitat fo r these species; and • Marine species, whales and cetaceans: assessed using the EPBC Act 'Administrative Guidelines on Significance': Ecological assessments show that this species will not be impacted significantly by the construction and operations at the KDP site and its associated infrastructure.

60 DECEMBER 2006

water

Seawater quality and aquatic ecology associated with intakes and outlets The seawater intake and discharge outlet will be tunnelled some 50 to 70 metres under the Kurnell Headland and approximately 30 metres under the seabed.

Seawater will be drawn from the Tasman Sea at a point so me 300 to 400 metres offshore of the Kurnell Peninsula and in water depths of approximately 20 to 25 metres on a large reef shelf with Aat and featured bedrock with drop-o ffs of I to 2 metres. The outlet is likely to be some 500 l ,000 metres so uth of the intake (Figure 5).

Seawater quality was assessed against the Proposed Marine Water Quality Objectives for NSW Coastal Waters (EPA, 2002) using relevant indicators from the Australia and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC) 200 0).

Modelling shows that adequate dilution of the seawater concentrate can be achieved in a relatively sh ort distance from the discharge point. The seawater concentrate wi ll be dispersed so as not to affect water quality or aquatic ecology beyond the initial near field mixing zone. Sal inity at arou nd 50-75 metres from the outlets is expected to be within app roximately one part per thousand of background seawater salinity, which itself is within the natural variation in salinity experienced off the co ast. A range of parameters such as pH, temperature,

Journal of the Australian Water Association

dissolved solids, iron, turbidity and nutrients in the seawater concentrate was assessed. At the edge of the mixing zone, all parameters had rerurned to background levels. C hemicals used in the desalination process are not expected to have impacts on marine water quality due to the nature of the chemicals, dilutions achieved and decompositio n in seawater.

Spoil generation Approximately 280,0003 tonnes (175,000 m 3) of spoil would be generated by excavati ng the intake and outlet tunnels and the associated shafts. In the case of intake and outlet tunnelling, as most of the spoil will be good quality sandstone residual, it is anticipated that the majority of the spoil will beneficially reused even on the site of the desalination plane.

Conclusions Historically, Sydney's storage level has never fall en to 30% level, therefore, the need fo r co nstruction of Kurnell Desalination Plane is a distant possibility.

However, if KDP goes ahead, a detailed environmental assessment (EA) is an essent ial first step. In chis paper, the EA for KDP briefs on the impacts involving: (i) energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission; (ii) terrestrial ecology; (iii) Water quality and aquatic ecology near intakes and outlets; (iv) Spoil management; (v) Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES); and (vi) Indigenous heritage.

EA co ncludes chat desalination plant is feas ible at Kurnell and the overall assessment co nclusion is chat the project can proceed without significant environmental impact if the management and mitigation

measures, detailed in the draft Statement of Commitments by SWC, are adopted.

SWC's commitment co effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent and monitoring of seawater concentrate discharges co verify predicted impacrs, is integral co the acceptabili ty o f the project.

The staging of a p lane in response ro water supply n eeds is also an important aspect o f the project.

The Author

Debashis Raha has worked in operations, environment, quality, health , safety and managemen t with. water, chemical and petroleum industries in Australia and overseas for past 21 years. He is a C hartered Professional Engineer in Chemical and Environment and a lead aud iror in q uality and environment w ith RABQSA (USA).

Email: d ebashis_raha@yahoo.com.au References I. NSW Governmenr, (2006), 2 006

Metropolitan Water Plan -Water of Lift.

2 . NSW Government, (2004), Meeting the

Challenges - Securing Sydney's Water Future.

3. Sydney Water Co rporation (SWC), (2006), Environmental A ssessmenr for the Kurnell Desalination Plane.

4. NSW Deparrm enr of Environmenr & Conservation, (1994), Environmental N oise Control M anual.

5. Gunninah Environmental Consultanrs (2000), Cronulla Sewage Treatment Planr, Kurnell Pe ninsula, Upgrade co Tertiary Trearmenr & Pipeline Duplication, Frog Baseline Report. A report prepared for Bovis Lend Lease.

6. Gun ninah Environm ental Consulranrs, (2002), Lor I DP I 027438 C aptain Cook D rive, Kurnell, Proposed Industrial Subdivision, Flora & Fauna Assessmenr Report. Prepared for Sere ni ry Cove Manage ment Pry Led. 7 . Gunninah Environmental Consulran rs, (2003), Lor I Captain Cook Drive, Kurnell , Supplementary Design, Flora & Fauna Assessment Report. Prepared for Serenity C ove M anage ment Pry Lrd. 8. G unninah Environ mental Consulranrs, (2004), Lor 102 D P 1027438 Captain C ook Drive, Kurnell, Subdivision a nd Partial D evelopment, Flora & Fauna Assessment Report. Prepared for Serenity Cove Management Pry Led. 9. Gunninah Environmental Consulrancs, (2005a), Lor I 02 DP I 027438 and Lor I DP 225973 C aptain Cook Drive, Kurnell , Rehabilitation Plan . Prepared for Seren ity Cove Management Pry Led. I 0. G unninah Environmental Consul ran rs, (2005b), Lor 102 DP 1027438 Captai n

Cook Drive, Kurnell, Subdivision and Partial Developmenr, Flora & Fauna Assessm ent Report, Supplementary In formation.

Prepared fo r Serenity Cove Management Pry Led. 11. NSW Scienrific Committee, (2004), (i) Final determ ination: Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest o f the NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East Corner bioregionse ndangered ecological communiry listing; (ii) Final dete rmination: Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplai ns of rhe NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin and South Ease Corner bioregions - endangered ecological community listing.

12. NSW Scientific Committee, (200 1) Final Determination. Sydney Freshwater Werlands in the Sydney Basin Bio region - Endangered Ecological Community Listing.

13. NSW Scientific Committee, (2000), Final de termination: Sydney Freshwater Werlands in rhe Sydney Basin Bioregion - endangered ecological community listing.

14. NSW Scientific C ommittee ( 1999), Fin al determination. Kurne ll dune fo rest in rhe S u therl and Shire a nd rh e C ity of Rockdale - endangered ecological community l isting.

15. Environment Protection Aurhoriry, (2002), Proposed Marine Water Qualiry Objectives for N SW Coastal Waters.

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

REQUEST FOR TENDERS WATER THROUGH EFFICIENCY The Australian Government is running a Water Through Efficiency Request.for Tenders (RFT DAFF 6 l/06).

People hold ing specifi c permanent water entitlements in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin are invited to submit tenders offering up water that they can save, or have saved, through on-farm or off-farm efficiency measures.

The tender process is aimed at peopl e who can save water whi le maintaining productive capacity. It is not suited to people who wish to exit the irrigation industry. Permanen t water entitlements offered up in this tender will be used to achieve env ironmental outcomes under the Living Murray Initiative.

Tender documents and further information on the Request for Tenders are available from www.daff.gov.au/watertender, email watertender@daff.gov.au or phone toll free on: 1800 727 984 (9am - 5pm ADST Monday to Friday excluding publ ic hol idays).

Tenders close at 2.00 pm ACT local time on 31 January 2007 Mla.C05-+011

DEPAinMENT OF A(;RICllLTl l RE. FISHERIES AND FORESTRY

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 61

COMMUNITY VIEWS ON WATER SHORTAGES AND CONSERVATION N Roseth Background

Table 1. Respondents' concern about life in their city.

The study was conducted within the People's Perspectives Program, which is the social research arm of che Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment (CRCWQT). It explores the 'hearts and minds' of people in major Australian urban centres when they are asked co consider various aspects of water shortages and water conservation.

The study is based on the premise chat water industry managers, who wish to influence the community co save water and to support sustainable water management schemes, are engaging in social reform.

Social reforms are unlikely co succeed if they are not underpinned by community concern. Anti-smoking campaigns will fail if the community does nor perceive smoking to be a heal ch hazard; government initiatives co reduce driving speed will fail if the community does not perceive the danger of fast driving. Likewise, people are unlikely co modify their water usage behaviour if they are not concerned abo ut water shortages. The underlying question for chis research the refore is: To what extent is the community concerned about water shortages and willing to save water?

Purpose of the study

The specific purpose of che study was to provide the Australian water industry with information chat will assist it in: • Better managing the relationship with the community in matters relating to sustai nable water resource management.

• Develop education and awareness strategies chat are attuned co community knowledge, needs and concerns.

• Ensure chat community attitudes are factored into the planning of sustainable water resource initiatives.

Data for the study was gathered during lace 2005 and 2006. le involved a phone survey of a randomly selected sample of 3,500 residents, 700 in each of Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne, Perch and Sydney. Resources available for che study originally were allocated for its conduce in four cities only (Adelaide, Melbourne, Perch and Sydney).

Darwin was added just before data collection began because of reduced rainfall 62 DECEMBER 2006

Water

Total %

Adelaide %

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

Crime, violence

25

27

22

22

33

24

Transport, roads

25

16

6

25

14 13 6 9 13 7 6

31

Cost of living

14

8

15

13

Terrorism

12

5

3

16

Polluted environment

11

8

11

11

17

Unemployment

8

12

8 9 5

Education

7

10

10

9 8

Poor government

7

8

5

7

Petrol too expensive

7

6

11

6

Water shortages

5 5

3

Health services

Overcrowding

and consideratio n of introducing water restriction ac the time the study was planned. The sample was constructed so ch at each city would have its own rigorous results. Ac the data analysis stage findin gs were weighted co allow for che different population size in each of che five cities.

In addition, face-co-face in terviews were conducted with a random sample of 56 of the phone survey respondents. An accredited social/marker research company, Woolcott Research, conducted data gathering and analysis for the study.

Ac the time of the study, drought and water shortages have been a feature of life chroughou c Australia and residents of the study cities (except Darwin) have been experiencing various levels of water restrictions for quire some rime.

Many perceive that they can do a lot more to save water.

10

1

3

5 9 4

3

2

3

17 12 13

9 5 6

8 6

6 8

of the five participating cicies.(Brisbane was not included for logistical reasons). Space limitation does nor permit che noting of demographic differences. They are outlined in che derailed research report (Community views on water shortages and conservation, Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment, Research Report No. 28) Extent of concern with water shortages

In order to gauge where 'water shortages' stand in community awareness relative to ocher issues char might impact on day-today urban life, che opening question of rhe survey asked people to name che issues chat concerned chem in their city. T he question called for open-ended, unprompted, multiple response. Response fo r rhe whole sample and for each city is in Table 1. Only issues mentioned by at least 5% of respondents in rhe total sample are listed.

• Trust in the authorities

Unprompted, water shortages are not topof-mind in the comm unity psyche (i n November 2005). Although just making it into community awareness, they are nor particularly high in che hierarchy of concerns and occupy the same position as over-crowding. The severity of the current drought and incense media publicity of global warming may, of course, have impacted on public awareness since.

• Views on what the future holds with regard co water shortages In the remainder of the article select findings on rhe above topics will be presented fo r the whole sample and fo r each

In order to probe further into where water shortages stand in community concern relative co ocher issues, in the next question, interviewers outlined eight issues char received considerable media exposure

The study covered che following topics: • Extent of concern with water shortages • Views on che right to use water • Living with water shortages

Journal of the Australian Water Association

30

26

10

25

9 8

&

j

.. ~

20 15 10

~ 7

'o 6

&s

:4 C:

::IE 3

5

2

0 0 Total

Adel.

Darwin

le

Melb.

Porsonolly a community

Figure 1. Issue of greatest conce rn .

around the time of the survey. Respondents were asked to indicate which issue was of greatest concern co them. Response, for all cities comb ined is in Figure 1.

When prompted, water shortages come to the fore and are in fact the most frequently mentioned area of concern . This suggests that in order to en sure communiry awareness and concern, water authorities need to continuously and regularly publicise and promote the issue.

In order to measu re community worry about water shortages, respondents were asked to rate on a ten-point scale, where' l' meant ' not at all worried' and '10' meant 'extremely worried', the extent of their personal worry about the effect of water shortages in their c ity. T hey were then asked to rate again, usi ng the same scale, che extent to which they believed that the community generally worries about water shortages. Figure 2 shows mean 'personal' worry and 'co mm uniry' worry levels for the total sample and for each ciry.

While level of worry about the effect of water shortages is nor all that high (mean personal worry 6.4 out of IO), people generally believe chat they personally are more worried than the communiry in general is (mean co mmunity worry 5.5 out of 10).

The face-co-face in cerviews revealed chat on the whole, people ind icated broad concern about water shortages, but they did not seem really worried , nor did they express particu lar urgency about the situation.

Water was obviously seen as a basic requirement fo r survival but there was no indication that many were fearful of running out of water in the foreseeable future.

The 'Right' to Use Water Efforts co persuade the commu nity to use water more judiciously would be hindered if

Perth

Sydney

!

Figure 2. Mean leve l of persona l and com mun ity worry about the effect of wate r shorta ges. the preva iling view was that people have the right to use water. Respondents were asked to rate on a fou r-point scale the extent to which they agreed with three statements expressing different facets of the concept 'the right to use water': • It is my right to use as much water as I want when I want.

• People pay for their water, so should be able to use as much of it as they like.

• People have the right to keep their garden looking green and healthy.

Tables 2, 3 and 4 show the extent of agreement with the above statements.

A minoriry of people, 7% believe that they have the right to use as much water as they want whenever they want. Only a very small minority, 3%, strongly believe this to be the case. 80% of respondents strongly disagree that they have such a right.

Eleven percent believe chat people pay for water and should be able to use as much of it as they want. Only 5% strongly believe chis to be the case. 73% strongly disagree with the idea. T hough still a minority, when paying for water is specifically mentioned, there is a slight increase in the proportion of people who believe in their right to use water.

Wh ile only a minoriry of people believe in the right to use water whenever they want or chat they pay and should be able to use as much as they want, one half of respondents believe chat people have the right to keep their garden looking green and healthy.

In the face-co-face interviews no one claimed chat people have a 'right' to use as much water as they like, but most believed chac they should be able to maintain a certain lifesryle and do most of the things they see as part of a no rmal Australian way of life. Wh ile the term 'right' is stronger than the term 'should be able co', the difference is only marginal.

Perceptions about the relationship between 'healthy' and 'green' garden were explored in the face-co-face interviews. T here was a distinct perception among respo ndents that for a garden to be healthy, it must be green.

Living with Water Shortages How has the experience of a prolonged drought and water restrictions shaped people's views on living wi th water shortages? T his section will report response to some of the questions asked in this survey. They are: • Can individuals make a difference?

• Can people save mo re water?

• Do people know what they can do to save water?

• What are the main drivers for savi ng water?

• Has having to save water detracted from qual ity of life?

• How wi ll people respond to cougher restrictions?

It is likely that the more people believe chat individuals can make a difference to the amount of water that is saved, the more they will respond positively to water conservation messages. l s there a general communiry belief chat ind ividuals can or cannot make a difference to the amount of water chat is saved? Response, on a fourpoint agreement scale is in Table 5.

Juse over one in ten believe that individuals cannot make a difference to the amount of water that is saved. Six percent strongly believe ch is to be the case. A majority, three quarters strongly disagree that ind ividuals can not make a difference.

How much are people willing to do to save water is likely to be related to their perception of how much more they can do.

Do people bel ieve chat they have exhausted their capaciry to save water or that they can do more? Do they generally believe char

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 63

there is a capacity in che community co save more water? Respondents were asked co first indicate whether they believed char t hey could do a loc more, a little more or nothing more co save water. They were then asked co indicate how much more chey believed ochers in the co mmun ity could do. Figure 3 shows for all cities combined views on household and co mmunity capacity co save water.

Table 2. It is my rig ht to use as much water as I want w hen I wa nt.

W h ile just under 57% of respondents believe chat they can do a little m o re co save water, 22% believe char chey can do a lot more and another 20% believe char they can do nothing more. People perceive chat ochers can do much more than they can . A majority, 69% believe chat ochers can do a loc more and only 3% believe chat ochers in che community can d o nothing more.

Table 3. People pay for water so should be able to use as much of it as they like.

Knowing what can b e done co save water obviously is a p re-requisite co doing ic. T o what extent do people perceive chat they know what co do co save water? Their response on a four-poi n t agreement scale is in Table 6 .

One fifth of respondents claim chat they do not know enough about what they can co save water. While chis is a minority, it represents a large number in che community who could benefit from more knowledge.

An understand ing of what motivates people co save water would enhance che d evelopment o f co mmunity programs designed co support water conservation.

There are three obvious drivers char co uld motivate people co save water: â&#x20AC;˘ A ucilicarian driver - making sure we don't run our of water in the fut ure.

Totol %

Which facto r mot ivates rhe largest proportions within che community? People were asked co indicate which of rhe three above factors is most likely co motivate chem co save water. Response co this question is in Table 7 .

The utilitarian driver - making sure we don't run our of water - is che most likely motivator for a largest proportion of respondents - about one half. H owever, the ocher cwo d rivers, in particular che environmental one, also motivate considerable proportions withi n the community.

Another driver emerged in response co che face-co-face interviews - a social driver.

Many respondents wanted co be seen co do the righ t thing and were driven by a need 64 DECEMBER 2006

Water

Darwin%

Melbourne%

Perth %

Sydney %

4

6 8 19 66 14

2 3 11 83

3 3 12 81

3 4 15

5

6

Strongly disagree

3 4 13 80

11 80

Total agree

7

9

Strongly agree Agree Disagree

5

Total %

Adelaide%

Darwin %

Strongly agree

5

Agree Strongly disagree

6 16 73

Total agree

11

6 7 17 64 13

9 12 18 60 21

Disag ree

77 7

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

3

3 6 15 75

7 6 18 69 13

5

14 77 8

9

Table 4. People have the right to keep their gard en looking green and healthy.

Total %

Adelaide%

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

Strongly disagree

17 33 22 26

22 37 18 20

25 40 17 17

50

59

65

19 37 19 22 56

18 31 23 26

Total agree

14 32 24 29 46

Strongly ag ree Agree Disagree slightly

49

Table 5. Individuals can't rea lly make much difference to the a mount of water that is saved .

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

7

4

5

5

5

12 78

4 13 78

9

9

9 6 10 74 15

Total %

Adelaide %

6 6 12 76 12

6 5

13 75 11

13 75 12

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

Total agree

Darwin %

Table 6. I don't really know enoug h about w hat I can do to save water

â&#x20AC;˘ An environmental driver - caring fo r the environment. â&#x20AC;˘ A money driver - saving money by saving water.

Adelaide%

Total %

Adelaide %

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

8 12 21 58 20

10 13 19 57 23

11 13 22 54 24

7 13 21 58 20

8 9 23 60 17

8 12 21 59 20

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strong ly disagree

Total agree

co co nfo rm co behaviour char is accep ted in the community. Peop le noted cwo prerequ isites for che 'social driver' co work: the authorities have co en fo rce che requiremen ts and the non-residential sector - industry, agriculture and councils - have co be seen co participate in the effo rt.

At the time of the survey, in all cities bur Darwin water resrricrions have been in place for quire some rime and the managemen t of water supply has been a constant feature in the media. Do people perceive chat as a result their way of life has

Journal of the Australian Water Association

been affected? Their view, on a four-point agreement scale is in Table 8 .

A mino rity, 16% perceive char che quality of their life has been impacted by the need co save water. Juse less than one in ten strongly believe chis co be the case.

The continued drought and dwindling supplies may mean that water authorities will have co consider impos ing cougher restrictio ns. How would people react co more restrictive regimes? Their response is in T able 9. (l n D arwin there were no water restrictions ac che time of the survey.

refereed paper

People in Darwin were asked co indicate their reaction if restrictions were introduced.)

Wh ile 42% of respondents strongly believe chat cougher restrictions would not matter co chem, 3 1% feel chat they would be annoyed if restrictio ns became cougher. Sixteen percent would be very annoyed.

Face-co-face interviews confirmed chat despi te the face ch at level of concern over water shortages is nor particularly high, most believed char restrictions of so me form were necessary co help keep people in line.

Respondents have co me co accept current levels of restrictio ns as a permanent way of life bu t indicared chat they would not expect chem to beco me any more onerous. If restrictions becam e rougher, they would have no choice but to comply but this move wo uld be resented and it would indicate lack of or in adequate plann ing on the part of the authori ties. Many pleaded against a coral prohibition of watering gardens.

Trust in the Water Industry Co mmunity coo peration with water conservation efforts and acceptance of sustainable water resource strategies are more likely to be achieved if based on co mmunity cruse of the autho ri ties. Does che community cruse the authorities co manage adequately fucure water supply? Response on a fo urpoint agreement scale co a statement express ing cruse in the authorities is in Table JO. 33% of respondents crust the authorities to ensure chat we have an adequate water supply fo r the fucure. O nly fo r 13% is that level of trust ve ry high.

In fo rmation and ed ucation campaigns stand a better chance of success if being transmitted by a crusted spokesperso n. There are various organisations that could sponsor info rmation on water conservation. W ho is crusted to provide such info rmation?

Respondents were asked co race on a cenpoin c scale, where ' 1' is 'defi nitely don't cruse chem' and ' 10' is 'corally cruse them', che extent co which th ey would cruse various bodi es co provide in fo rmation on the water sicuacion. Figure 4 shows mean cruse racings fo r the various bodies fo r the fi ve cities together.

The CSIRO, university scientists and environment pro tection authori ties are the most crusted organisations. T hey receive a mean cruse raci ng of 7.4 and 7.3 ou t of cen respectively. The wacer utilities receive a mean raci ng of 6 o u t of ten. Journalises, TV personali ties and p oliticians receive significa ntly lower crust racings, 4.2, 3.7 and 3.3 our of ten res p ectively.

Levels of optimism or pessimism about che water sicuacion in the fu cure are li kely co

80

69

70 57

60

m A lot more

:g, 50 ~ C

40

ll.

30

cu ~ cu

!;I A little more

121 Nothing more

20 10 0 My household

The community

Figure 3. How much more can people in your ho usehold an d in the community do to save water?

Table 7. The most likely motivations to save water.

Making sure we don 'I run out of water Caring for lhe envi ronment Saving money by saving waler

Total %

Adelaide %

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

49

42

42

50

47

52

35

37

41

36

36

32

16

21

17

15

17

16

Table 8. Having to save water really detracts from my qua li ty of life .

Total %

Adelaide%

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth%

Sydney %

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

9 7 21 62

7 8 23 62

7 6 19 68

6 7 20 67

Total agree

16

15

11 9 25 53 20

13

13

12 8 23 57 20

Table 9. 1 w ill be really annoyed if water restrictions get any tougher than they already are (Darw in : I will be really annoyed if water restrictions are introduced here) .

Total %

Adelaide %

Darwin%

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

Slrongly agree Agree Disagree Slrong ly disagree

16 15 25 42

18 16 27 37

30 15 22 31

11 14 25 48

17 14 23 44

20 15 26 38

Total agree

31

34

45

25

31

35

Table 10. I trust the authorities to en sure we have a n adequate water supply for the future.

Total %

Adelaide %

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

Slrongly agree Agree Disagree Slrongly disagree

13 20 24 41

14 20 23 42

20 23 20 34

14 23 27 35

15 23 22 36

12 17 21 49

Total agree

33

34

43

37

38

29

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 65

influence people's present level of concern and willingness co act. How do people envisage the future? Do they believe chat the water situation in their city in say, five years, will improve, deteriorate or stay the same?

Do they believe chat there is no real need co save water because ic will eventually rain ? Do chey believe chat some technological solucion will be found co ameliorate che si tuation?

Response co these questions is in Tables 11, 12 and 13 and respectively.

~

0 :i

8 C "' :E Cl)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

7 .3 6.1

6

4

The view is fa irly pessimistic. Just over half of respondents believe chat the simacion wi ll gee worse. One quarter believe ic will stay che same and under one fifth believe it will improve.

The view on che eventual icy of futu re rain may explain, at lease in part the reason for the pessimistic view on the futu re. Only 5% believe chat there is no need co save water because it will eventually rain. 83% strongly disagree with chis scenario.

The view on the likelihood chat che water situation wi ll be resolved because some sore of a technological solution will be found may also explain, at least in pare, rhe reason for the general pessimistic view on the fumre. Ten percent believes chat a technological solution wi ll be fo und. 70% strongly believe this not co be the case.

Figure 4. Mean trust ratings for vario us bodies to provide information on the water situation (Ten-point scale rating w here ' 1' is ' definitely don't trust them' a nd ' 1O' is 'totally trust them ') .

Table 11. Overall, do you th ink that in say five years the water situation in you r city will. ...

â&#x20AC;˘ Water shortages are not 'cop-of-mind' relative co ocher social and environmental issues and rise in co mmunity awareness only if prompted. â&#x20AC;˘ Interviews revealed no sense of urgency or real worry. People accept chat wasting water, just like wasting any resource, is wrong but cannot envisage a situation in which they might have co live with less water. â&#x20AC;˘ The measured level of community worry abouc water shortages is not particularly high - a mean of 6.4 ou t of 10. People's perception of ochers' level of worry is even lower - 5.5 out of 10.

66 DECEMBER 2006

water

Adelaide %

Darwin %

Melbourne%

Perth%

Sydney %

17 52 26

13 52 31

7 40 48

20 50 25

15 49 32

17 54 23

Improve Get worse Stay the same

Table 12. There is no real need to save water because eventual ly it wil l rain.

In Summary The main message emerging from the smdy is chat the prolonged drought is having an impact. The majority bel ieve chat individuals can make a difference co the amount of water chat can be saved. By their own admission 79% believe chat they can do at lease a little more co save water. Only small minorities believe chat there is no need co save water because ic will evenmally rain or a technological solution will be found. Nevertheless, chis study suggests that on the whole concern about water shortages is probably not sufficien cly strong co galvanise greater community action than is already occurring. This conclusion is based on the findings that:

Total %

Total %

Adelaide %

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

2 3 12 83

2 3 11 83

10 11 17 61

5

21

2 2 9 87 4

3

5

2 2 12 84 4

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

Total agree

4

12 80 7

Table 13. There is no need to worry too much about water shortages because some sort o f a technological solution is sure to be found.

Total %

Adelaide%

Darwin %

Melbourne %

Perth %

Sydney %

Strongly disagree

4 6 19 70

4 5 16 74

5 7 20 67

4 5 17 73

3 6 19 71

5 8 20 67

Total agree

10

9

12

9

9

13

Strongly agree Agree Disagree

T his study suggests chat water authorities wishing co engage che community in sustainable water resource efforts muse keep the matter of water shortages and conservation continuously on the community agenda. They should leverage on the fact chat many perceive chat they can do a lot more co save water and chat a considerable proportion believe chat chey lack the necessary knowledge of what co do co save more. Authorities need co be aware chat the urban community has come co accept the current situation but is not unduly worried abo ut prese nt levels of

Journal of the Australian Water Association

supply and is likely co resent cougher water resrriccions regimes.

The Author Dr Naomi Roseth is Leader, People's Perspectives Program, CRC for Water Quality and Treatment, naomi. rosech@ucs.edu.au

Reference Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quali ty and Treatment, 2006 Community views on water shortages and comervation, Research Report No. 28.

fereed paper

CATCHMENT TO COOK? INTEGRATING THE WATER CYCLE AND THE FOOD CHAIN A Davison, D Deere Abstract The water sector is aligned with che infrastructure, environment and util ity sectors. Water is also a major component of the food cha in - arguably che most massive traded raw material. In this paper, we review che relevance to che Australian water sector of che recently developed standard ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems-Requirements for any organization in the food chain. The standard, which has been adopted through Standards Australia as AS ISO 22000-2005, was developed to harmonise food safety management systems across the food chain. The Standard promotes itself for application co all food chain inputs and outputs. H owever, ISO 22000 is a generic management system standard and is not explicitly tailored co water, or any other specific food chain component. The Standard is consistent with water sector management system frameworks, such as those incorporated in the Australian Drinking Water Guideli nes 2004 (ADWG) and National Guidelines for Water Recycling 2005 (draft) (NGWR).

The Standard ca nnot replace water sector guidelines, regulations and codes because ISO 22000 implies that compliance with such norms is a prerequisite for conform icy.

However, if there is interest in promoting water to food chai n customers, there may be a benefit in demonstrably addressi ng ISO 22000, albeit as a subordinate subsystem, when implementing the water sector guidance, regulations and codes.

Introduction The current water shortage has emphasised that water is a fu ndamental and valuable co mponent of the food chain. In Australia for instance, si nce December 2005, up co 55 megalitres a day of recycled water has been produced from Melbourne Water's Werribee-based Western Treatment Plan t and delivered co the retailer, Southern Rural Water. The water is distributed co more than I 00 vegetable growers in the Werribee Irrigatio n District, where it is used for prod uction of mainly lettuces, caul iflowers and broccoli, which ca n be eaten raw. The

recycled water exceeds Victoria's Class A categorisation (EPA 2002) being produced through treatment processes capable of providing over 7-log 10 reduction in viruses and 6-log 10 reduction in protozoan parasites (Poon et al 2006).

ISO 22000:2005, food safety management system. Requirements for any organisation in the food chain.

Experience worldwide demonstrates that well-managed recycled water schemes are excellent and rel iable sources of safe water for irrigation. For examp le, a detailed international review of the epidemiological evidence for the World Health Organization (WHO) by Blumenthal et al (2000) concluded that adverse health effects were not observed among fa rm workers or food consumers where recycled water of the appropriate quali ty was used, such as the WHO Class A guideline (WHO 1989).

Recycled water supplied in Australia typically fa r exceeds the WHO Class A guideline and is highly controlled to assure reliable quality (e.g. National Guidelines for Water Recycli ng (NGWR) (NRMMC/EPHC 2005 draft); state/territory guidelines and regulations) .

Irrigation water abstracted from natural, open water bodies is nor necessarily so easily controlled, bur also has applicable gu idelines (e.g. ANZECC/ARMCANZ 2000; state/territory guidelines and regulations).

Regardless of the water source it is important for the water sector to maintain confidence amo ng food producers regarding the quality of the water supplied. Questions and concerns about food chain risks arising from irrigation water recently made international news fo llowing a nationwide outbreak vectored by spinach from Sali nas Valley, California (Si nclair and Lightbody 2006). Ar rhe time of writing, it had not been possible co narrow down any one fro m a number of possible sources of the

confirmed aetiological agent - pathogenic E. coli. H owever, along with farmi ng and packaging practices, irrigation water quality was being investigated. Within Australia, irrigation supply authorities will recall rhe Puntoriero case in the context of the allegedly negligent supply of contaminated irrigation water to a food producer (reviewed in Davison and Deere, 2005).

Recently, an Australian food safety publication highl ighted utility suppliers (including water and power compa nies) as possibly an overlooked and potentially weak co mponent in industry food safety management systems (HACCP Australia 2006).

The response to this Cali fornian outbreak and the Australian Puntoriero case illustrate two important issues of relevance to the water sector. Firstly, the 'whole of food chain' tenet of the new AS ISO 22000-2005 standard (Standards Australia 2005) will increase the quality sensiti vity of food producers with respect to their raw material (including water) suppliers. Secondly, if food does become contaminated, the primary source may never be confirmed so it would be beneficial for water suppliers to main rain user con fidence by having good evidence th at water supplied was fir for purpose an d beyond reproach.

Overview of ISO 22000:2005 In Austral ia, ISO 22000:2005 is manifested as Australian Standard AS ISO 22000-2005 (Standards Australia 2005) and was prepared by rh e Standards Austra lia Committee FT-024, Food Products, to be identical with and reproduced from ISO 22000:2005. T he Standard specifies the requ irements fo r a food safety management system that co mbines the fo ur key elements for ensuring product safety from the start of che chain to rhe final consumer: • Interactive communication; • System management; • Prerequisite programs; and • HACCP principles.

ISO 22000 is intended to be able to be applied by all organisations involved in any aspect of che food chain, regardless of size.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

DECEMBER 2006 67

By implementing the requirements ofISO 22000 it is intended chat organisations would be able to demonstrate a holistic product safety management system as ouclined in Box 1.

Food safe ty management systems were first developed for 'high risk' foods such as meat p roduces and grad ually expanded to cover virtually all processed foo ds. Today, the 'farm to fork' and 'paddock to place' co ncept has seen food safety management systems applied th roughout the food chain.

Even suppliers of raw materials, such as chemicals and packaging, have been involved in developing food safety managemen t systems to cover the food safety issues related to their produces.

H owever, the food sector is diverse and there has been much variatio n in the application of food safety management systems, both w ithin the sector and between regions.

The ISO 22000:2005 standard was developed to promote harmonisation and standardisation in food safety management and help improve cross-sectoral communication (Figure I). Specifically, the aim of the standard is to " ... harmon ize on a global level the requi rements for fo od safety management for busi nesses within the food chain. I t is particularly intended for application by organizations that seek a more focussed, coherent and integrated food safety management system than is normally required by law." 1 Water is one of many components covered d ireccly and indireccly within the scope of the standard (Figure I ).

ISO 22000 builds on experience with, and wholly incorporates, Hazard Analysis and C ritical Control Point (HACCP) (FAO/WHO 2003). HACCP has been practically applied in the water sector since around 1998, initially to potable water (D eere and Davison 1998) and latterly to the water cycle more broadly (e.g. Schneider et al, 2003; Jomantas et al, 2005). Although ISO 22000 has been d eveloped as an audicable standard, organisations are free to choose the way in which they make use of it.

Box 1. ISO 22000:2005 enabling requirements.

Implementation of the ISO

22000 requirements will allow an organization:

(a) to plan, implement, operate, maintain and update a food safety management system aimed at providing products that, according to their intended use, are safe for the consumer. (b) to demonstrate compliance w ith applicable statutory and regulatory food safety requirements. (c) to evaluate and assess customer requirements and demonstrate conformity w ith those mutually agreed customer requirements that relate to food safety, in order to enhance customer satisfaction. (d) to effectively communicate food safety issues to their suppliers, customers and relevant interested parties in the food chain (e.g . Figure 1). (e) to ensure that the organization conforms to its stated food safety policies. (f) to demonstrate such conformity to relevant interested parties. (g) to seek certification or registration of its food safety management system by an external organization, or make a self-assessment or self-declaration of conformity to this International Standard. chat which may be d el ivered through the potable system. ISO 220 00 allows for standards to be incorporated within its framework as users have co specify the intended use, and the quali ty and safety obj ectives of the water required to meet chat use. Environmental effl uent releases and water cycle by-produces, such as biosolids, have important foo d chain influences too.

For instance, discharges must meet quality requirements to p rotect food chain and ingestion-related values (e.g. see T able 1).

requirements. As examples, codes of good manufacturing and hygiene practices are listed in the ISO 22000 text. By inference, water sector codes of good practice related to product quality and operational hygiene practices are requirements when implementing ISO 22000 in the water cycle. To illustrate chis point, Table 2 p rovides examples of prerequisite programs that should logically be implemented if ISO 22000 were applied to a water quality management system.

Prerequisite Programs

Management Systems and the Water Cycle

T he ISO 22000 system incl udes explicit requirements to adopt prerequisite programs suited to the particular component of the food¡chain under co nsideration and to meet any relevant statutory and regu latory

Water quality management system frameworks

Along with NZ, Iceland and Switzerland, the Australian water sector was so mething o f

Crop producers

Producers of pesticides, fertilizers and veterinary drugs

Feed producers

Food chain for the production of ingredients and additives

Transport and storage operators

Primary food producers

Producers of equipment

Food manufacturers

The Water Cycle and the Food Chain As its full tide suggests, the ISO 22000 standard promotes the implementation of food safety management systems to all food chain co mponents, incl uding raw materials.

In terms of mass, we estimate that water is by far the largest traded raw material used in the Australian food chain. Water has many food chain uses, most of which have defined quali ty requirements (e.g. see Table 1).

So me industries may even require technical grades of water of a higher standard than l. AS [SO 22000-2005, page vi.

68 DECEMBER 2006

Water

Producers of deaning and sanitizing agents Secondary food manufacturers Producers of packaging materials Wholesalers Service providers

I

T Figure

Retailers, food service operators

and caterers

I

Consumers

1. Example of communication within th e food chain (AS ISO 22000-2005).

Journol of the Austrolian Water Association

refereed paper

Table 1. Examples of water cycle inputs to the food chain.

Water cycle input

Examples of quality guidelines and standards

Potable water for drinking and for incorporation into food a nd beverages at point of use

98th percentile < l E. coli or thermotolerant coliforms/ l 00 ml (NHMRC/ NRMMC 2004) Extensive additional recommendations (NHMRC/ NRMMC 2004) State/ territory regulations and guidelines Potable water quality requi rements may apply, or more stringent in some cases due to nutrients in food Potable water quality requirements may apply Potable water quality requirements may apply Median < l 00 thermotolerant coliforms/ 100 ml for irrigation water (ANZECC/ ARMCANZ 2000) Extensive additional requirements for recycled water (NGWR) State/territory regulations and guidelines Median < l O thermotolerant coli forms/ l 00 ml for irrigation water (ANZECC/ ARMCANZ 2000) Extensive additional requirements for recycled water (NGWR) State/territory regulations and guidelines Median < l 00 thermotolerant coliforms/ 100 ml for irrigation water (ANZECC/ ARMCANZ 2000) Extensive additional requi rements for recycled water (NGWR) State/territory regulations and guidelines Median< 1000 thermotolerant coliforms/ 100 ml for irrigation water (ANZECC/ ARMCANZ 2000) Extensive additional requirements for recycled water (NGWR) State/territory regulations and guidelines Med ian < 14 & 90th percentile < 43 thermotolerant coliforms/ l 00 ml (ANZECC/ ARMCANZ 2000) State/ territory regulations and guidelines Median < 150 & 80th percentile < 600 thermotolerant coliforms/ 100 ml (ANZECC/ ARMCANZ 2000) 95%ile :5 40 enterococci/100 ml (NHMRC 2006) State/territory regulations and guidelines.

Incorporation into food and beverage products at point of production Personal hygiene in food preparation Washing and processing of food Water supply to livestock

Direct irrigation of food crops to be eaten raw

Direct irrigation of fodder crops

Indirect irrigation of fodder and food crops

Discharge influencing aquaculture and fisheries environments Discharge influencing primary contact recreational water environments

a pioneer in developing fo rmalised, systematic 'catchment to consumer' water quali ty risk management systems wi th in the international wate r industry (Martel et al 2005). M ost of chis development has taken place since 1995 .

Withi n Australia, M elbourn e Water developed systematic public health management syste ms in rhe 1990s which were informed by the risk assess ment and guidance in AS/N Z S 4360- 1995 (S tandards Australia 1995; 2004), (S tevens et al 1995). Sydney Water embarked on an explicit and comprehensive catchment to

rap risk assess ment and management system, planning fo r the project in 1997 and starting work ea rly in 1998. Th e methodology adopted by Sydney Water was also based on the guidance in AS/N ZS 4360- 1995, tailored for use in water supply (D ee re et al 2001) and was more recently ce rtified to [SO 900 l :2000. During the late 1990s many utili ties developed HACCP-based water quality man agement systems (D eere and Davison 1998), inclu ding Brisbane Water (G ray and Morain 2000}, Gold Coast Water (S mi th 2004), Ya rra Valley Water (Chapm an et al

2003) and South East Water (Deere et al 2001 ).

Building on these practical experiences, rhe N H MRC/N RMM C (2004) Aust rali an Drinking Water Guidelines (AD WG) Framework for the Management of Drinking Water Quality was developed, with Water Corporatio n, Sydney Water, Melbourne Water, So uth East Water and Power Water undertaking fu ll-scale pilots (Cunliffe 200 I). T he same concept is currently being applied to recycled water management through rhe development of rhe N GWR.

Table 2. Exam ples of prerequisite programs in the water cycle.

Water Cycle Product

Examples of implicit "Prerequisite Programs"

Potable water

• NHMRC/NRMMC (2004) Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) includ ing the Framework for the Management of Drinking Water Quality and consideration of the full guidelines; • Any state, territory or local government acts, regulations, licences or contracts relating to the quality of water supplied; • Any regional or local envi ronmental plans or other statutory instruments relating to dri nking water source water protection; • Design codes such as the WSAA Water Supply Code 2002, AusSpec or locally developed codes; and • Australian standards such as AS/ NZS 3500:2003 a nd AS/NZS 4020:2005.

• NRMMC/EPHC (2005 draft) Notional Guidelines for Water Recycl ing (NGWR); • Any state, territory or local government acts, regulations, licences or contracts relating to the quality of recycled water being used as part of the food chain; and • Depending on the type of system, design codes and Australian standards may also apply, as noted above for potable water.

• ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000); and • Any regional or local environmental plans or other statutory instruments or licences relati ng to protecting aquaculture, fisheries or source water.

• Any statutory instruments or licences relating to protecting food from contamination arising.

Recycled water

Environmentally discharged water Environmentally disposed biosolids or sludge Any traded water

• ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000); and • Any fair trad ing or trades practices acts and written or impl ied customer contracts that relate to the food chain use of the water.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 69

technical features refereed paper

Table 3. The basic elements of ISO 22000 and the ADWG Framework.

ISO 22000

The ADWG Framework

Interactive communication.

Commitment to drinking water quality management.

System management.

System analysis and management.

Prerequisite programs.

Supporting requirements.

HACCP principles.

Review.

Within Australia, Victoria pioneered the implementation of a statutory approach to risk management for drin king water (Labza 200 4) . Water suppliers and water storage managers are required to implement water quality Risk Management Plans (RMPs).

Other states and territories are introducing similar requirements, as did NZ in 2001 (Nokes 200 1).

In a most recent innovation, the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) developed a water quality management benchmarking system based on the ADWG Framework and taking into co nsideration the requirements of related management systems. The WSAA 'Framewo rk Co ntinuous Improvement Tool' is probably the fi rst of its kind internationally and is creating great interest both in Australia and overseas.

At present the quality management system frameworks of most direct and explicit relevance to the Australian water sector are: • lnternationally: the WHO Guidelines for

Drinking-water Quality 2004, Water Safety Framework and Water Safety Plans (GDWQ; Davison et al 2005); • Nationally: the management system frameworks in the ADWG and NGWR; • State and territory: acts and regulat ions such as the Safe Drinking Act 2003 (Vic) and Safe Drinking Water Regulations 2005 (V ic) and similar legislatio n emerging in other jurisdictions as well as guidance such as the Recycled Water Management Plans in the Qld EPA Queensland Recycled Water Guidelines 2005 and the Department of Energy Utilities and Sustainability (DEUS, NSW) Integrated Water Cycle Management

Guidelines for NSW Local Water Utilities 2004.

Generic quality management system frameworks

A number of generic management system frameworks are often wholly or partly applied to water quality management, including:

• ISO 9001:2000, Quality management systems-Requirements; • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP); and • ASINZS 4360-2004 Risk Management.

70 DECEMBER 2006

Water

ISO 22000 is a relatively new generic standard and wholly and explicitly incorporates the preliminary steps, p rinciples and prerequisite programs of HACCP . HACCP can be considered to be a subsystem of ISO 22000 as ISO 22000 is more broad and explicitly incorporates the supporting elements of HACCP such as Prerequisite Programs, stakeholder communication, efficacy of combinations of control measures and quality system elements based on ISO 9001.

The GDWQ, ADWG and NGWR frameworks are conceptu ally very similar to, and compatible with, the ISO 22000 standard (illustrated in Table 3). ISO 22000 is compatible with, and in terms of b road principles equivalent to, the fra meworks incorporated into the GDWQ, ADWG and NGWR . Therefo re, [SO 22000 is compatible with both the water sector and the generic management system framewo rks with the differences being in terms of terminology (jargon), structure, the ordering of elements, the degree of specificity and the depth and breadth o f coverage. Importantly, there appears to be no fundamental incompatibility between ISO 22000, HACCP, other ISO series management systems or the G DWQ, ADWG and NGWR water sector fram eworks.

Implications of ISO 22000 for the Water Sector Given recent history, it is likely that water cycle managers will , fo r the foreseeable future , be required co implement and maintain formalised, systematic water quality management systems. T he ADWG and NGWR fram eworks, alo ng with state/ territory guidance and regulations, represent the standard of duty in the implementation of such systems.

While there is unlikely to be any fo rmal requirement to implement an ISO 22000, or similar, generic ma nagement system in the water sector, the implication of ISO 22000 for the water sector is primarily a need for an awareness of the Standard to assist in communication with food chain stakeholders and inform due diligence (D avison and Deere, 2005).

From a public confidence and communi cation perspective, food chain ,

Journal of the Australian Water Association

environmental health and food safety stakeholders will understand and relate to ISO 22000. Local government water cycle management organisations usually employ environmental health officers and liaise with local area health service officers. Such professionals are invariably fam iliar with HACCP today and will become famil iar with ISO 22000 in future. Familiarity in the heal th sector has sometimes been a driver for the implementation of HACCP in che water cycle and will probably lead to so me water quality management systems being cross-referenced to ISO 2200 0 in future.

Importantly, ISO 22000 can not be im plemented instead of water sector norms.

To comply with ISO 22000 an industry sector m ust wholly incorporate ex isting codes of good practice as part of its Prerequisite Programs. For water, codes of good p ractice include national guidance, such as the ADWG and NGWR, as well as state/rerri tory guidance and regulatio ns.

Therefore, not to adopt such codes of p ractice would represent a nonconformity under TSO 22000.

Conclusions Water is arguably the largest traded co mponent of the food chain by mass . ISO 22000 is co nsistent and compatible with other management systems used in water cycle management organ isations and logically extends to water b ecause the Standard is intended to cover all food chain components. Therefore, water cycle managers that influence the food chain would benefit fro m having an awareness of ISO 22000 to aid in communi cation with food sector stakeholders. H owever, the water sector does not have a historical association with the food sector and wi ll probably not need to formally adopt ISO 220 00.

ISO 2200 0 explicitly requires the sensible interpretation and adoption of national and state/territory guidelines, regulations, codes of practice and standards. T herefore, ISO 22000 cannot be considered as a poten tial alternative or replacement for such norms, but rather as a framewor k to be co nsidered during their impl ementation.

Situations where there may be benefits for water secto r organisations explicitly crossreferencing their water quality management systems to ISO 22000 include: where HACCP is currently used; where third party certification is considered o f value; where u tilities have adopted integrated management systems based on ISO series standards; and where food chain stakeholders are important customers for traded water.

refereed paper

The Authors Drs Daniel Deere and Annette Davison are directors of Warer Futures Pry Ltd, a water cycle risk management business that they established in 2003. Of relevance to this article, the auth ors have certified competencies in the development an d auditing of HACCP and ISO 22000 systems and have worked with WHO, NHMRC and WSAA on develop ing water quality management system framewo rks. Email: annerre@waterfurures. ner.au

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Blumen thal, U., Mara, D. , Peasey, A., Ruiz-Palacios, G. and Storr, R. (2000) Guidelines for rhe microbiological quality of treated wastewater used in agriculture: recommendations for revising WHO guidel ines.

World Health Organization. Bulletin ofrhe WHO. 78 1104-1116 Chapman, T., Jayara me, A., Pamminger, F. (2003). Water Quality Benefits Gai ned From Having a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (H ACCP) System in Place Since 1999. Proc. AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition. Denver, CO, USA, 2003.

C unliffe DA. (200 1) . Austral ia's Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality. P roc. A WWA Annual Conference and Exposition.

Denver, CO, USA, 200 I. Davison, A., Deere, D. (2005) . Risk Management & Due Diligence In The Water Industry. Wate1; 32(May):23-26.

Davison. A., Howard, G., Stevens, M. , Callan, P., Fewrrell, L., Deere, D. and Bartram, J. (200 5) . Water Safcry Plans, Managing drinking-water qualiry from catch ment to consumer. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Deere, D. and Davison, A. (1998). Safe water - are food guidelines the answer?, Water 25(November/December):21-24.

Deere, D . and Davison , A. (200 5). T he Ps and Qs of Risk Assessment.

Water 32(March ):38-43.

Deere, D., Stevens, M., Davison, A., Helm, G. and Dufour, A. (2001).

Chapt er 12 - Management St rategies. In: Wnter Quality: Guidelines,

NRMMC/EPHC. (2005). N ational Guidel ines for Water Recycling. D raft for Public Consultation. Canberra: Australian Government Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council and Environmental Protection and Heritage Council.

Nokes, C. (2001). Public Health Risk Mnnngement Plans: An Introduction

to New Zealand's Use offl Risk Mnnagement-Based Appronch to Improving the Snfety of Drinki11g-wnter Supplies. Proc. NZI EH Conference 200 I. Poon , J., Keegan, A., Deere, D., Davison, A. and Manis, P. (2006). UV Disinfection for Class A Water Recycling. Ware,; 33(Seprember):37-4 I Schneider, P., Davison, A.D., Langdon, A., Freeman, G., Essery, C., Beatty, R. and Toop, P. (2003). Integrated Water Cycle Planning for NSW Towns. Water Science er Technology 47(7-8) :87-94 Sinclair, M. and Lightbody, P. 2006. Call For Recycled Water Ban in Healthstream, Eds: Sinclair, M. and Lightbody, P. Cooperative Research Centre for Water Q uality and T reatment, 43(September):9.

Smith D. 2004. HACCP in Water: T he War on Error. Proc. NSF Conference on Risk Management Strategies for Drinking Water Uriliries, Ann Arbor, Ml , USA, 2004 .

Standards Australia. (2005). AS ISO 22000-2005, Food safety manngement systems-Requirements far nny orgrmization in the food chnin. Sydney: Standards Aust ralia. ISBN O7337 6878 4 Standards Australia. ( 1995). AS/NZS 4360: 1995. Risk Mnnagement. First Edi tion. Sydney: Standards Australia.

Standards Australia. (2004). AS/NZS 4360:2004. Risk Manngement. Third Edition. Sydney: Standards Australia. ISBN O 7337 5904 I. Stevens, M. , McConnell, S., Nadebaum, P.R., Chapman, M. , Ananrhakumar, S. and McNeil, J. ( 1995). Drinking water quality and treatment requirements: A risk-based approach. Wnter 22(N ovember/December): 12-16.

W HO. ( 1989). Guidelines for the safe use ofwastewtlter and excreta in agrirnlture nnd aquaculture. Geneva: World Health Organization.

WHO. (2004). Guidelinesfar Drinking-water Quality. Third Edition.

Geneva: World Health Organization.

Stnndnrds n11d Henlth. Assessment of Risk nnd Risk Mnnngement far Wnter-Relnted Infectious Disease. London, England: !WA Publishing.

EPA. (2002). Guidelines for Environmental Mnnagement: Use ofReclnimed \Vater. Melbourne: Victorian Govemment. EPA Victoria. ISBN O 7306 7622 6.

FAO/WHO. (2003) . CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev.4-2003, Recommended

fntemntional Code ofPractice - Gmeml Principles of Food Hygiene including Hnzard Analysis nnd Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and guidelines far its application. Rome: Codex Alimentarius Commission of the Food and Agricult ure Organization and World Health Organ ization of the Uni ted Nations.

Gray, R. and Morain , M. (2000). HACCP Application to Brisbane Water.

Water, 27:41 -43 .

HACC P Australia. (2006) . Food Snfety Bulletin. Issue 5. Sydney: HACCP Australia.

Jomantas, M., West, D., Chanan, A., Deere, D. and Davison, A. (2005) .

Improving Nemo's H abitat Using HACCP. Proc. Oz Water Conference. Wat e rshed - The Turning Point fo r Water. Brisbane Convention Cen tre 8-12 May, 2005.

Labza B. (2004). Landmark safe drinking water legislarion fo r Victoria.

Wnter, 31Qune) :26-29.

Martel, K., Kirmeyer, G., Hansen, A., Stevens, M ., Mullenger, J. and Deere, D. (2006) . Applicntion of HACCP for Distribution System Protection. Denver: Awwa Research Foundation, American Water \~arks Association with United Stares Environmental Prorecrion Agency and International Water Association.

NHMRC. (2006). Guidelines for Managing Risks in Recreational Water.

Canbe rra: Australian Government National Health and Medical Research C ouncil of Australia.

NHMRC/NRMMC. (2004). Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

Canberra: Australian Government National Healrl1 and Medical Research Council/Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council.

ISBN Online: 186496 I 244.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 71

ENGINEERED REED BEDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF POTABLE WATER T Kuypers, A Mackay, M P Taylor and arid Australia found that maximum pathogen and contaminant removal was achieved by having a combination of dense aquatic vegetation and open water zones.

Aquatic vegetation maximises the physical filtration and sedimentation of particles to which pathogens are absorbed, while open water zones maximise ultraviolet disinfection. In addition, the plants are often instrumental in absorbing nutrients via their vascular system from the surrounding water and sediment (Greenway, 2005), with other particulates being adsorbed onto their surfaces (Wrigley eta!., 1991; O'Hagain, 2003; Chen eta!., 2006).

Abstract Mount Isa Water Board's Clear Water Lagoon is the only documented natural filtration facility for potable water in Australia. This study evaluates the functionality and effi cacy of the Clear Water Lagoon to filter catchment runoff Its use since 1982 demonstrates the effectiveness and potential extensio n of rhis technology to other remote areas where m o re traditional water treatment facil ities are less feasible. Sediment and water analyses show that the reed bed system significantly improves influent water quality parameters such as heavy metal concentrations, turbidity and colour to within Australian D rin king Water Guidelines (2004). The dense network of macrophytes, principally Hydrilla verticillate, in the settling pond appear to be the pri mary agent responsible fo r the removal of nutrients, heavy metals and suspended sediment from incoming flows.

Mount

Isa City

Key Words: Constructed wetlands, heavy metals, potable water treatment, reed beds, turbid ity

KtJometcrs

Introduction The success of constructed wetlands for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewaters has led to a greater appreciation of their multiple values (Green et al., 1997; Gschlobl & Stuib le, 2000; Goulet et al., 2001; Kadlec & R eddy, 2001 ; O'Hagain, 2003; C hen et al., 2006). H owever, the transfer of th is technology into potable water treatment systems remains poorly tested. Clear Water Lagoon (CWL), Mount Isa, Queensland, represents the only documented reed bed filtration system of its kind for parable water treatment in Australia. This paper reviews the general structure o f reed bed systems and specifically the funct ion of CWL. Understanding the functionality of such systems will increase our abil ity to determine the suitability of such alternative methods to produce potable water supplies.

Wastewater Treatment The effectiveness of constructed wetland s to filter wastewaters h as long been recognised.

Simple and proven effective for 24 years.

72

DECEMBER 2006

Water

Figure 1. Location map showing the location of Clear Water Lagoon in relation to Mount Isa, Mount Isa Mines (MIM) and the Leich hardt River system , northwest Queensland . The Leichhardt River drai ns to the north, debouching in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Co nstructed wetlands utilise plants, soil, bacteria and hydraulic flows to improve the physico-chemical and microbiological condition o f the water as it passes through a series of ponds and lagoons (O'Hagain, 2003; Vacca et al., 2005). Organ ic pollutants are broken down as a food source by a variety of micro-organisms. Other contaminants, such as heavy metals, are fixed in humic acid and cation bonds in the soil (Copper, 1999; Gschlobl & Stu ible, 2000; Vacca et al., 2005). The roots of aquat ic plants introduce oxygen to the underlying sediments, providing an environment where aerobic bacteria can thrive and assist oxidation, facilitating the degradation of compounds such as ammonia to nitrate (Gschlobl & Stuible, 200 0; O'H again, 2003) . Greenway's (2005) study of constructed wetlands in subtropical

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Potable Water Treatment at Clear Water Lagoon Clear Water Lagoon uses aquatic vegetation and regulated flows in a similar way to the aforementioned wastewater treatment facilit ies. The system was subject to a number of studies in the 1980s and early 1990s (Finlayson, 1980; Farrell, 1989; Dolzan, 1991; Griffiths & Farrell, 1991; Wrigley eta!., 1991). Finlayson (1980) investigated the role of macrophytes in CWL and Lake Moondarra and found that the h igh concentrations of heavy metals and nutrients within the Leichhardt River source waters were significantly reduced by the aquatic vegetation. Farrell (1989) found that the macrophytes were effective in reducing the suspended solid concentrations of inflow to between 67 and 89% of influent levels and also concluded that the CWL system reduced the total phosphorus and heavy metal concentrations. Griffiths and Farrell (1991) identified Hydrilla verticillate to be the most important macrophyte for the physical filtration of water in CWL. A positive li near relationship was found between the 'standing stock' of Hydrilla verticillate and the volume of captured suspended particles.

This current study was commissioned by Mount Isa Water Board to examine the ongoing efficacy of CWL. The following aspects of the system were studied: ( 1) spatial changes in water quality variables; (2) spatial changes in sediment quality and accumulation patterns; and (3) the d istribution and functionality of the aquatic vegetation.

refereed paper

Study Area

N

In-field Testing Program

t

The Leichhardr River was dammed Lake Al, Fe, and Cu elements were also in 1957 ro create Lake Moondarra reseed in rhe field using the Palintesr Main ro capture runoff from rhe Selwyn lagoon outlet Photometer 7000. Measurements Range ro provide potable water for were found ro be within ± 10% Site 4 Mount Isa City (population 20,369 variabi lity of the laboratory results ABS census 200 1) and Mount Isa obtained by Simmonds and Bristow Mines. The lake (20° 34' S, 139° Pry Ltd (in field and laboratory 35' E) is located some 19 km results respectively: Fe 260 and 210 downstream of the City and Mount µm/L, Al 28 and 30 µm/L; Cu 64 Isa Mines (Figure 1), and has a µm/L and 60 µm/L). As a result, the maxim u m capacity of 106,830 ML Palintesr Photometer was considered (Finlayson, 1980). At the dam wall, ro be adequate for testing un filte red the Lake Moondarra-Leichhardr heavy metal concentration (Al, Cu, River catchment is approximately Fe), colour and turbidity for rhe l, 113 km 2. The drainage network is !00 Legend sampling program. Dissolved located in rhe semi-arid tropical • Sample locations 0 Hydrillo oxygen, cond uctivity, temperatu re zone of northwest Queensland • Typho Reeds (Figure 1), where rwo seasons exist: and pH, were measured using a YSJ a dry season fro m April ro 556 Ha ndheld Monitoring System.

Figure 2. The Clea r Water Lagoon site and principa l September and a wee season from The equipment was recalibrated components of the reed bed system.

Ocrober ro March. Not only does prior ro each sample ru n. In all the river have ephemeral flow cases, the data deri ved from water characteristics, ru noff is also highly variable include Hydrilla verticiflata, Potamogeton samples (Table 1) represent unfiltered tricarinatus, Typha orientalis and Vallisneria over inter-annual scales due to fl uctuations values. Normally, samples are fil rered using in monsoonal rai nfall. spiralis as well as the less desirable Salvinia a 0.45 µm fi lter prior ro analysis bur here molesta. T he distribution of the two main CWL was originally constructed in 1968 as che 'raw' sample was analysed . The results species Hydrilla verticillata and Typha a alternative water supply to Lake may therefore be considered ro reflect orientalis is illustrated in Figure 2. Wrigley Moondarra, which becomes highly turbid maximum values. T his approach was used et al. (199 I) argued char these macrophyres during rhe wet season (values up ro 100 because the drinking water derived from are instrumental ro the water clarification NTU recorded, Wrigley et al. , 199 1).

Clear Water Lagoon is not filtered between process as th ey act co trap suspended matter, Sedimen t and water quality in Lake extraction and delivery to customers. altering micro-scale flow velocity patterns Moondarra may be influenced by discharge Therefore, rhe val ues presented herei n around the foliage and prompting from the town's sewerage system (Finlayson, reflect rhe actual quality of wate r being settlement on the bed of the lagoon.

1980) as well as sediment-bound heavy delivered ro reticulation system fo r the metals derived from historic and Methods township of Mount Isa. contemporary mining activities (Taylor and Water and sediment samples and associated MJNITAB statistical software (versio n 13.2, Hudson-Edwards, 2005; submitted) In environmental measurements were raken MINITAB Inc, 2000) was used ro evaluate 1982, water quality was observed ro improve from CWL during the wetter months of (ANOVAs) the relatio nship between sample so greatly after passing through CWL char ir January and February 2006. Water quality days and sample sires. Descriptive statistics was decided to permanenrly divert all parameters (colour, conductivity, dissolved as mean, standard deviation and such drinking water supplies drawn from Lake oxygen, metals, nutrients, pH and turbidity) min imu m and maximum values were also Moonda rra through che lagoon prior ro were measured at seven sires across the calculated.

T he underlying assumptions for chlorination and transfer to Mount Isa lagoon system (Figure 2) . Sedi ment samples normal ity were determ ined using a Terminal Reservo ir. Water from Lake were also collected from sires I , 3, 5 and 7 Kolmogorov-Smirnov rest, where data were Moondarra is pumped into the CWL system and analysed fo r rheir total extractable As, nor normally distributed they were via an open-earth flume which directs flow Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb concentrations. successfully log-transformed prior to via a settling pond, th rough reeds and ocher Unfiltered water samples were collected analyses. macrophyres, and finally into the primary from each of rhe study sires (Figure 2) in holding lagoon (F igure 2). Clear Water nitric acid washed boccies for heavy metal Sediment Sampling Lagoon is considered an integral part of the resting and were scored on ice for transport Bulk sediment samples were collected using water supply system and supplies around to Simmonds and Bristow Pry Led a 2.5 m polyp ropylene pipe in the seeding 18,000 ML annually ro Mount Isa's laboratory (NATA accredited). T hese po nd and by scuba divers within the reed populatio n, mining, industry and commerce. preliminary samples were reseed fo r Al, As, beds and main lagoo n adjacent to the ourThe lagoon has a coral operating capacity of Cu, Ca, Fe, Mg, and Ni ro decipher if the rake Col Popple Pump Station (Figure 2).

2,800 ML, with an average depth of 5 m elements altered in concentration The samples were stored in polyethylene although pumping only occurs over rhe top throughout the system. Al, Fe, and Cu bags and transported ro Simmonds and 0.5 m of CWL. This is equivalent ro around revealed significant changes in concentration Bristow Pry Ltd (Brisbane) where they were 400 ML of accessible water or 8 days supply chroughou r the sys rem and were selected for analysed

by Inductively Coupled Plasma at curren t average usage races (Mount Isa furt her study. The remaining elements were Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS Perkin Elmer Water Board, personal communication) . significanrly below ANZECC/ARMCANZ Elan 6100 DRC) for coral extractable The dominant macrophyres in the lower (2000) guidel ine values and thus were not metals. Duplicate samples were all fo und ro fl ume, seeding pond and main lagoon considered for fu rther study. be withi n ± 15%.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

Water

DECEMBER 2006 73

Table 1. Summary of water quality results throughout the Clear Water Lagoon system, January-February 2006.

Site 2

Site 3

Site4

Site 5

Site6

Site 7

56 25 95 20 12%

45 25 85 17 8%

38 20 70 19 8%

12 0 20 5.5 11%

13 0 30 7.9 11%

16 0 45 10 9%

328 315 351 14

330 314 351 16

333 314 350 15

330 316 347 12

328 312 342 13

328 312 342 13

327 312 344 13

87 72 112 13

80 74 90.4 6.8

70 60 87 9.9

51 39 79 15

113 79 134 19

89 80 102.l 11

84 61 99 13

6.6 5.4 8.3 0.9

5.9 5.5 6.6 0.4

5. 1 4.2 6.4 0.8

3.9 3 5.9 l. l

8.1 6.1 9.4 l. l

6.6 6 7.4 0.6

6.2 4.9 7.1 0.8

8 7.5 8.4 0.3

7.6 7 8 0.4

7.5 7.2 7.6 0.2

9 8.5 9.2 0.3

8.6 8.5 8.8 0.1

8.5 8.1 8.8 0.2

30 29 31 l

30 28 31 0.8

32 29 34 2

31 29 34 1.7

31 29 34 1.8

16 6 26 6 9%

8 0 16 6.3 12%

4 0 8 2.7 31%

5 0 8 2.9 7%

4 0 8 17%

0 0 0 0 0%

7 0 10 4.7 11%

13 0 50 18 0%

0 0 0 0 0%

15 8 81 64 Mean 0 0 16 20 Min 60 20 170 180 Max 27 10 52 55 Standard Deviation 45% 45% 0% 14% Precision ADWG * (Health Guideline Value) = 2000 µg/L, (Aesthetic Guideline Value )= 1000 µg/L

2.5 0 20 6.4 0%

0 0 0 0 34%

9 0 40 17 0%

46 0 120 39 16%

28 0 80 28 6%

37 0 70 25 40%

Site 1 Colour (PCU)

92 Meon 20 Min 320 Mox 95 Standard Deviation 7% Precision ADWG* (Aesthetic Guideline Value)= 5 15 PCU Conductivity (1JS/cml

Mean Min Mox Standard Deviation 00 %

Mean Min Mox Standard Deviation DO mg/L

Mean Min Max Standard Deviation pH

8.2 Mean 7.5 Min 8.6 Max 0.4 Standard Deviation ADWG* (Aesthetic Guideline Value)= 6.5 - 8.5 Temperature (0 C)

Mean Min Max Standard Deviation

31 29 33 1.3

Turbidity (NTU)

22 Mean 6 Min 150 Max 22 Standard Deviation 7% Precision ADWG* (Aesthetic Guideline Value)= <5 NTU

2.7

Aluminum (l)g/LI

19 Mean 0 Min 60 Mox 25 Standard Deviation 13% Precision ADWG* (Aesthetic Guideline Value)= 200 µg/L

8.1 0 30 13 6%

5.5 0 30 10 6%

Copper (l)g/LI

Iron (l)g/LI

270 300 Mean 40 50 Min 600 1100 Mox 360 180 Standard Deviation 16% 7% Precision ADWG* (Aesthetic Guideline Value)= 300 µg/L •ADWG -Australian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines (NHMRC 2004)

74 DECEMBER 2006 Water

230 30 720 220 6%

Journal of the Australian Water Association

150 0 340 110 3%

refereed paper

Given that it was more than a decade since the settli ng pond was last dredged (Mou nt Isa Water, personal communication) , it was deemed necessary to ascertain the depth and distribution of sediment accu mulation.

Forty-fi ve depth measurements were taken using a depth sampling rod and measuring tape. The broad distributions of the principal vegetation species within Clear Water Lagoon were also mapped and plotted using Map-Info GIS (Figure 2) to ascertain the presence of any fu nctional relationship between vegetation coverage, sed iment deposition and water quality (Griffi ths and Farrell 1991; Wrigley eta!. , 1991) .

Results and Discussion A summary of the water quality results from the seven sites sampled is presented in Table l and Figure 3.

Progress ive improvements to water qu ality are observed from the intake ch ro ugh to the main lagoon. Turbidity va lues decline throughout the system until reaching ADWG (NHMRC, 2004) compliant levels ac Site 5. Values average less than 5 NTU at che final sample sire adjacent to the Col Popple Pump Station (F igure 3). Sites 5, 6 and 7 have similar values (4-5 NTU), indicating that mixing and dilution is occurring in the main lagoon. Regressio n ana lysis of che relationship between tu rbidity and colour showed th at 84% of the variation in colour can be explained by che variation in turbidity (p=0.00, F=2758, df=l).

Water pH values were fou nd to be predom inantly alkaline ch rough the system.

Disso lved oxygen and pH were either slightly lower or che same as their influent values in che CWL system (Table l , Figure 3). Th e highly alkaline conditions in che CWL may potentially ace as a buffer to reduce the risk of cyanobacteria outbreak (Dolzan, 199 1).

Dissolved oxygen (DO) values (Table 1, Figure 3) are reduced ro as low as 51 % in the settling pond, where water velocity is decelerated. Upon leavi ng the settling pond DO values return ro 84% saturation at the out-take pump (S ire 7; Figure 2) . T his increase may be due in part to the action of the de-straci fier (Figure 2), which is situated between Sites 6 and 7. The destracifier lies on the bed of the main lagoon and pumps air through a diffuser, helpi ng ro maintain a uniform temperature of ~30°C (Table 1) throughout che water column. T his ensures che water is consisten tly well oxygenated and mixed, limiting the opportunity for cyanobacteria outbreaks and heavy metal release from sedimen ts under reducing co nditions.

25

120

20

100

,-.

,-.

::>

80

f,-

~ 15

a :a

..=

:.s

~

0

0

Q ._,

..=.... ..

0J)

60

><

0

10

40

f,-

-0

~

,,,0

5

20

- - Turbidity - - DO % 0

.:!!

Q

0 Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site4

Site 5

Site 6

Site 7

Figure 3. Turbidity and dissolved oxygen concentrations with in the Clear Water Lagoon system.

Water Quality - Heavy Metals

Sediment Quality and Distribution

As shown in Figure 4, a marked improvement in heavy metal concentrati ons (Al, Cu and Fe) occurs between site 2 (e ntrance ro the seeding pond) and site 4 (reed beds, Figure 4).

The peak values of Al, Cu an d Fe reco rd ed ac sires 2 and 3 may be explained by the relative high turbidity values recorded in the upper pa rt of the lagoon system and the probabil ity that heavy metals are adsorbed ro suspend ed particulates. Water quality values improve significan tly close ro the outtake pump ac Site 7, wich Cu (9 pg/L), Al (0.2 pg/L) and Fe (37 pg/L) below ADWG (N HMRC, 2004) an d ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000) guideli nes.

Within the mai n lagoon (sires 5 ro 7) there is little variation in these heavy metals (Figure 4), providing furth er evid ence to support che notion chat water in the main lagoon is well mixed and chat there is little ad ditional water quality benefits accrued in chis part of che system .

Measurements of sediment distribu tion and thickness revealed that the majority of sediment deposition occurs within 40 m of the entrance ro the settling pond (sires 2 ro 3, Figure 2) . Th is is attributed ro influent flow velocity reduction by che energy di ssipaters (riffles) ac end of ch e flum e, channel widening ac che entrance ro the seed ing pond and filtratio n through the dense bed of submerged macrophyces. It would appear chat the aquatic vegetation within the flume (between sires 1 and 2, Figure 2) is instrumental in removi ng and stori ng the majority of the co ntaminated suspended materials (see also Farrell , 1989).

Sediment laden Hydrilla verticillata within che flum e and settling pond, suggests chat physical filt ration by the macrophyte is che primary means of clarification.

All the sediment samples rested for heavy metals (Figure 5) are well with in che ANZECC/A RMCANZ (2000) guidelines for freshwater ecosystems, with the exception of sed iment Pb concentrations at

;J

90

350

80 70

300 250

60

bl)

200

..=, 50

u 40 <

150

30 20

100

10

50

0

- 0 Site l

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

Site 6

Site 7

Figure 4. Average metal co ncentrations of unfiltered water w ithin the Clear Water Lagoon system.

Journal of the Australian Water Association

water

DECEMBER 2006 75

Site 1 (see Table 2). The entrance to the seeding pond contains the most contaminated sediments. A marked improvement in sediment quality occurs between sires 3 and 5 suggesting that Hydrilla verticillata in the seeding pond, and the reed beds (Typha orientalis) across the entrance to the main lagoon, work in tandem to filter suspended particulates.

The associated physical parameters of turbidity, colour and heavy metal concentrations support chis interp retation as they 'improve' significantly at the same locations (Table I).

- 60

9000

7000

Acknowledgments

Alana Mackay and Tab itha Kuypers are pose-graduate students and Dr. Mark P. Taylor (mark.raylor@mq.ed u. au) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physical Geography, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia.

References

~

~ ,,.,,

,; r..

50 40

i,,.,, e

'-' ,.Q

~

- - Pb

!, 5000

~

T

30

i ,i

4000

u 20 "0 u

3000

,;;

2000

:?:=:s:

~

IOOO 0

10

~

Site 5

Site 3

<:

0

Site 7

Figure 5. Sediment-associated metal concentrations stored in the substrate of Clear Water Lagoon.

Farrell , P. 1989. Aspects of the hydrobiology of a natural water clarification system at Mount Isa, Queensland, wirh special reference to rhe role of aquatic macrophyres. James Cook University of North Queensland.

Finlayson, C. M. 1980. Aspects of the hydro biology of the Lake MoondarraLeichhardr river water supply system, M o unt Isa, Queensland. James Cook Un iversity of North Queensland: 448 .

Coulee, R . R., Pick, F. R. & Droste, R. L. 2001.

T esr of the first-order removal model for meral retention in a young constructed wetland . Ecological Engineering 17: 357-37 1.

Green, M. B., Griffin, P. , Seabridge, J. K. & Dhobie, D. 1997. Removal of bacteria in subsurface flow wetlands. Water Science and Greenway, M . 2005 . The role of constructed wetlands in secondary effiuenr treatment and water reuse in subtropical and arid Australia.

Ecological Engineering 25: 501-509.

G ri ffiths, D. J . & Farrell, P. D. 1991 . Turbidity and warer quality in tropical reservoirs in Norrhern Australia. Verh. lnternat. Verein.

limno. 24: 1465- 1470.

Gschlobl, T. & Smible, H. 2000. Reed bed systems: design, performance and mainrainability. Water Science and Technology 41: 73-76.

Kadlec, R. H. & Reddy, K. R. 2001.

Temperature effects in treatmenr wetla nds.

Water Environmental Research 73: 543-557.

Narional Heald, and Medical R esearch Council (N HMRC). 2004. Australian D rinking Water G uidelines; National Health a nd Medical Research Council and the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council.

T he Australian Government.

O ' Hagain, S. 2003. The design, operation and perfo rmance of a municipal hybrid reed bed rrearmenr system. Water Science and Technology 48: 1 19-126.

Taylor, M. P. & Hudson-Edwards, K. 2005.

Dispersal and Sro rage of Sedime nrAssociared Z inc in the Leichhardr River, Mt Isa Queensland. In: [. C. Roach. Regolirh 200 5- Ten years of C RC LEME. Canberra, CRCLEME. Taylor, M. P. & Hudson-Edwards, K. Submitted. The dispe rsal and srorage o f sediment-associated metals in an arid river syste m: rhe Leichhardt River, Mr Isa, Queensland. Environmental Pollution.

Vacca, G., Wand, H., Nikolausz, M ., Kuschk, P. & Kastner, M. 2005. Effec t of plants and filter materials on bacteria removal in pilorscale constructed weclands. Water Research 39: 136 I - 1373.

Wrigley, T. J., Farrell, P. D. & G riffiths, D. J. 199 I. Ecological sustainable water clarificarion at rhe Clear Water Lagoon.

Water 18: 32-34.

Table 2. Concentrations in mg/kg of heavy metals contained wi th in sediment at CWL.

Chen, T. Y., Kao, C. M. , Yeh, T. Y., Chien, H. Y. & Chao, A. C. 2006. Applicarion of a construcred wetland for industrial wasrewater rreatment: A pilot-scale study. Chemosphere

64: 497-502.

Copper, P. 1999. A review of t he design and performance of vertical-flow and hybrid reed bed rrearment systems. Water Science and Technology 40 : 1-9.

D olzan, C. 1991 . The hisrory a nd developmenr of a natural clarificarion sysrem for producing high quality drinking water.

Mount Isa Mines, Mount Isa, QLD , Australia.

76 DECEMBER 2006

-- cu

Cd - - Ni

Technology 35: I 09- l l 6.

The Authors

- - As

6000

Site 1

We thank Mount Isa Water Board, in particular Iian W ilso n, An na Carleton, Don MacDonald and Melissa Cox for providing logistical and fina ncial support fo r chis project.

- - Mn

8000

Conclusion Mount Isa Water Board's Clear Water Lagoon represents the first working example of an engineered reed bed system used for the physical filtration of a potable water supply in Australia. Its success is attributed to a well planned design and an appropriate selection of aquatic vegetation, which together work to filter water co a standard within the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (NHMRC, 2004) . This technology is considered a tangible alternative to the more common sand-bed filtration systems used by other water authorities, which may be less economically viable in small remote communities. The use of reed bed filtration could also be applied to existing water treatment fac ilities, acting as an additional primary barrier to water quality protection.

- - Fe

water

Analyte

Site 1

Site 3

Site 5

Site 7

Australian Guidelines''

Fe Mn

7600 1100 6.1 62 0.77 5.5 56

7800 1500 5.6 64 0.71 5.5 52

4400 26 2.4 27 0.2 3 11

2400 240 1.6 18 0.18 2.4 13

No limit

As

Cu Cd Ni

Pb

* * Recommended Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines (ISQG) for ecosystem survival (ANZECC/ARMCANZ, 2000).

Journal of the Australian Water Association

No lim it

20-70 65-270 1.5-10 21-52 50-220