The days of sub-standard, dirty tap water and praying for rain are a thing of the past for the residents of Gunning and Dalton, in the NSW Southern Tablelands and Upper Lachlan Shire Council
The soon to be completed $10.8M water supply upgrade project will ensure water security and improved water quality to both towns.
The town water supplies in Gunning and Dalton have been crying out for an upgrade for years as they had significant limitations in terms of water security and quality, plus limited capacity to fund the substantial infrastructure necessary to address the shortcomings of the current supplies.
The Gunning system relies on pumping directly from the Lachlan River with chlorination the only form of treatment, so poor water quality in the river translates directly to the water provided at the consumers’ tap.
With very limited water storage available, dry periods and flood events have a significant impact on water available to the township.
The Dalton town water supply is sourced from two groundwater bores located within the village, also of poor quality with elevated salts, hardness and iron levels clearly apparent, as treatment is currently limited to chlorination only.
The existing bores are relatively low flow with dry periods impacting upon the quantity of water available to the township.
Upper Lachlan Shire Council has been active and successful in obtaining funding support of $5.4 million from the Australian Government under the Water for the Future Initiative and $4.3 million from the NSW Government under the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program to allow the infrastructure to proceed.
The Upper Lachlan Shire Council contribution of $1.1 million is from Councils Water fund reserve which is supported by funding contributions from the Gunning, Dalton, Crookwell and Taralga water supply rates and charges.
The $10.8M project comprises of: a 1.0ML/day Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Gunning; a 100ML Storage reservoir at Gunning; a new Pumping station and pipeline linking the Lachlan River supply to the new storage reservoir and Water Treatment Plant; Replacement of aged reticulation in Gunning together with a water efficiency program; and a new water supply for Dalton that provides a secure supply that provides drinking water meeting the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Following an open tender process, a design and construct contract was awarded by Council to Laurie Curran Water Pty Ltd for construction of the Water Treatment Plant, and Divall’s Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage were successful in being awarded the construction contract for the 100ML Storage Reservoir.
The new Water Treatment Plant is based upon a Dissolved Air Flotation and Filtration process and is capable of delivering 1 million litres of drinking water to Gunning and Dalton each day.
The system will provide first class drinking water to both villages well into the future.
The 100ML storage is designed to provide a water supply buffer for both Gunning and Dalton, providing drought and flood secure town water supply.
The storage consists of a ‘turkeys nest’ storage with earthen embankments, a geosynthetic clay liner, and rock lining of embankment internal batters.
The storage reservoir is to be filled by an upgraded pumping station on the Lachlan River at the existing town water supply off-take.
Stored water is then pumped directly to the new Water Treatment Plant, where it is then pumped to the existing Gunning service reservoir from which it gravitates for town water supply.
Councils Manager of Operations, Luke Moloney commented that, “While these projects have been needed for some time, Upper Lachlan Shire Council is proud of its achievements in delivering quality community infrastructure that helps support the sustainable future of our communities”.
