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Toowoomba Sewerage Treatment
As residents of Australia's second largest inland city and considering our location at the head of the Murray Darling River Catchment we must pay particular attention to water related issues. Toowoomba's sewerage system is comprised of sewers, pumping stations and the Wetalla Wastewater Treatment Plant with a combined replacement value of approximately $130 million. Council is aware that appropriate management strategies are necessary to ensure that excessive peaks in annual maintenance and replacement expenditure are avoided and that standards of service are able to be maintained. Recently, Council prepared a Total Management Plan for sewerage and water supply. The Total Management Plan – Sewerage is divided into several management plans, each with its own goals and objectives. Each of these plans will oversee the efficient management of particular aspects of Toowoomba's sewerage system, with each component's goal representing a part of the overall service goal. Council's sewerage service goal is to collect, treat, and dispose of domestic, commercial and industrial sewage in a reliable, cost effective and environmentally sustainable manner to satisfy community needs. Council's sewerage service goal is to collect, treat, and dispose of domestic, commercial and industrial sewage in a reliable, cost effective and environmentally sustainable manner to satisfy community needs. Funding for this work will be generated from rate revenue depreciation reserves, new loans and government subsidies. Council's financial management goal is to manage Council's finances in a responsible manner which ensures short term cost effectiveness and long term feasibility of the sewerage scheme. Management of 700 kilometres of sewer main, 42 sewage pumping stations and a large sewage treatment works is not a simple or inexpensive activity. Good management practices are required during all phases of an asset's life and Council's commitment to advanced asset management will refine and improve planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance activities. Council's asset management goal is to create, operate and maintain the system of sewerage assets in an informed and cost effective manner. Trade waste contributes approximately half the organic load on the treatment works and seven per cent of the hydraulic load. The intention of Council's trade waste policy is to recover the costs of treating trade waste contributions and any damage it causes to the sewers or sewage treatment works, while encouraging waste minimisation. Demand management to reduce water consumption will have the desirable secondary effect of reducing the volume of domestic sewage generated. Exclusion of illegitimate stormwater will be achieved through preparation and implementation of an Inflow/Infiltration control plan. Disposal of treated wastewater and the biosolids generated by the treatment process is potentially one of the city's main external environmental impacts. Improvement of the wastewater treatment process to remove nutrients will reduce the city's contribution to the blue-green algae problems downstream in the Murray-Darling Basin. The legislative framework in which Council operates its sewerage system is changing, and strategies that integrate wastewater minimisation, water reuse, water conservation, trade waste management, stormwater management and groundwater management are required. Council's environmental management goal is to manage the sewerage system in an environmentally sustainable manner with minimal environmental impact. Wastewater or sewage is not a topic most people prefer to discuss. However, there are benefits in heightening community awareness of the sewerage system, such as an awareness of what should and should not be put in the sewer. For example, unnecessary costs are incurred when foreign objects cause sewer blockages or toxic substances cause damage to the treatment process. Council's community consultation goal is to ensure that the sewerage services provided by Council reflect the changing needs and aspirations of the community. Performance assessment is critical in the running of any business, and sewerage system performance will be evaluated by measuring actual values against target values. Council's performance assessment goal is to ensure accountability to elected representatives and the community by measuring sewerage system service and management performance. Photo: Gowrie Creek downstream from the treatment plant. |
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Reticulated sewerage was introduced in Toowoomba in
the mid 1920's. Since then the city's population has grown from 20,000
to a current estimate of more than 90,000. Steady growth is continuing
and a population of 120,000 is projected for the year 2030.