Water Connections Tour 2023

The annual five-day intensive tour of water and sewerage treatment plant infrastructure in remote and regional Councils provide an opportunity to share up to date technical and policy information and to explore and understand issues facing small and remote communities.

The 2023 Water Connections Tour itinerary included visits to treatment plants, meetings with key staff and elected representatives and local hospitality in the South Burnett, North Burnett, Cherbourg, Fraser Coast, Woorabinda, Gladstone and Bundaberg Council areas.

Over the course of the week we passed through Kabi Kabi, Wakka Wakka, Butchulla, Auburn Harkwood, Iman, Wulli Wulli, Wadja, Kanolu, Bidjara, Barada, Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng and Taribelang Bunda country, and we pay our respects to the First Nations people and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities.

Day 1: Our first stop was Nanango Sewage Treatment Plant where Steve Carroll, Principal Engineer Water and Wastewater at South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) showed us around the plant and talked through the current concerns and future plans for the plant to cope with increasing demands on the sewerage network. This plant was originally constructed in 1956 and the original inlet channel, Imhoff tank and lagoons are still on site and used to extend capacity or act as a temporary backup when required.

The “tourists” included delegates from:

• Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water,

• Queensland Health,

• Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training,

• Department of Environment and Science,

• Local Government Association of Queensland, and

• Urban Utilities.

A big thanks to Trevor Dean who joined the team for the duration of the tour as our technical expert.

We then met with members of South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) at the Commercial Hotel in Kingaroy to talk about urban water services in regional communities before heading to the Wondai Water Treatment Plant, originally constructed in 1998. It includes a raw water pump station, flocculator tank, DAFF and disinfection processes. Main concerns include wet weather events and high raw water turbidity as well as source water availability.

The last stop for the day was the Murgon Sewage Treatment Plant, circa 1961 with some updates in

1986 and 2010. It includes a course manual bar screen, Imhoff tanks and Facultative Lagoon Storage and disinfection. Concerns include algae blooms and recycled water quality. The plant is a haven for longnecked turtles, a sight to see!