Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) Water and Waste Projects portfolio leader Cr Nancy Sommerfield joined TRC Water Project Services officers and project contractors UGL Engineering for the official commissioning of the $3.6 million Pechey plant.
Cr Sommerfield said the overall project cost of $5.3 million also included the $1.7 million Pechey to Hampton trunk water main, which will be completed later this year. The new plant replaces the existing water treatment plant at Crows Nest and later this year will also replace the Hampton Water Treatment Plant. Both facilities have struggled to meet water quality standards in periods of extreme wet weather and dam algal events.
Cr Sommerfield said the work has been completed on schedule and within the budget. “The Pechey plant has the capacity to treat the full variance in water quality which can be expected in raw water supplied from Cressbrook and Perseverance Dams. It can remove iron and manganese to acceptable levels, which the existing plants have difficulty in achieving.”
The new plant has a capacity of 25L/s (25 litres per second), incorporates an upflow clarifier, gravity media filters, UV disinfection, chlorination and clear water storage. Site facilities include control/monitoring systems and water testing equipment.
“Treated water from the plant was introduced to the Crows Nest water supply network in late July 2014. Council has completed the design work and is about to start construction of a 6.8km treated water trunk water main from the Pechey Water Treatment Plant to Hampton’s Chapman Park water supply reservoir,” said Cr Summerfield, “The existing Hampton Water Treatment Plant will then be taken out of service.”
Council awarded the contract for the design and construction of the Pechey plant to UGL Engineering Pty Ltd in August 2013. The contractor used a large number of local sub-contractors and suppliers to undertake the project works and the work was completed on schedule and within the budget. Successful performance testing and operator training was performed in July 2014, ahead of schedule.
Submitted by:
Angus Moffatt
Media Relations Officer
Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
Toowoomba Regional Council