Water quality experts visit Bourke and Brewarrina

“We’re delighted to have our team on the ground at Bourke and Brewarrina working alongside both councils to enhance the management of source water quality as part of the NSW Government’s Town Water Risk Reduction Program,” WaterNSW Executive Manager Strategy and Performance, Fiona Smith, said.

“On 11 June, our experts will be in Bourke familiarising themselves with Bourke Shire Council’s source water catchment and water treatment plant offtake on the Darling (Baaka) River.

“On 12 June we’ll be in Brewarrina for similar collaborations with Brewarrina Shire Council with visits along the Barwon River.

“These inspections will enable our experts to better understand each council’s current operations, source water management practices and risk controls, so that we can provide the best and most practical advice.

Fiona said one of the big lessons from the most recent drought is the water sector must collaborate more closely to build expertise and provide better access to niche skills.

“Some of these niche but critically important functions include catchment management and better ways to monitor and reduce risks at the source of water used in local town water supplies.

“WaterNSW is a national leader in the water sector, operating most of the large dams in NSW and protecting the health of the drinking water catchment that supplies the more than 5 million people of Greater Sydney.

“This is why our experts are well placed to help identify risks and fast track improvements to local source water quality across the State under the Town Water Risk Reduction Program,” Fiona said.

Collaboration at heart of TWRRP

The TWRRP brings the strengths of major entities in the water sector, like WaterNSW, to local councils, to provide extra support to help improve water security, quality and reliability by enabling them to tap into the skills and knowledge that will best assist them.

“This program already has plenty of runs on the board with more than 90 local water utilities receiving technical support, boosted workforce capability and training opportunities since it started, but we want to keep that momentum going which is why we’ve extended it until June 2028,” Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Director of Local Water Utilities, Jane Shepherd, said.

“We’ve teamed up with best in the business to give councils the tools and expertise they need to continue providing clean and reliable drinking water to residents and businesses for years to come. That includes helping them to maintain their infrastructure such as dams.”

“Our friends at WaterNSW manage some of the biggest storage dams in the state, so it’s great to have them working with us and passing on their knowledge to help ensure regional communities are better prepared for drought, floods and water quality challenges in the future.”

WaterNSW has received NSW Government funding under the TWRRP to work with local water utilities (LWUs) on dam safety risk assessments and to help improve the monitoring of source water quality.

Under the program, DCCEEW provides ongoing support and expertise, free of charge to LWUs, to improve water treatment including providing training to water operators and funding to LWUs to carry out upgrades to plants.