Coliban Water is at the half way mark of a planned 12 month water quality improvement project for Castlemaine.
The chlorination trial was initiated to improve disinfection and maintain chlorine levels across the entire Castlemaine network.
Executive General Manager Water Quality, David Sheehan, said customer feedback during January resulted in adjustments being made to chlorine dosing levels.
“Customers were experiencing a strong chlorine taste and odour in some parts of the network,” Mr Sheehan said.
“We continue to monitor levels to ensure that seasonal fluctuations, like periods of very warm weather where customers are using more water, do not have a greater impact on the drinking water experience.
“Maintaining chlorine levels is important - it protects against contamination as the water travels through our water mains after treatment at the Castlemaine Water Treatment Plant,” Mr Sheehan said.
The Castlemaine water supply network includes a number of storage tanks and long lengths of water main to deliver water to all the towns that make up this system.
The towns supplied in this network are Castlemaine, Chewton, Campbells Creek, Elphinstone, Taradale, Harcourt, Fryerstown, Barkers Creek, Maldon, Yapeen, Newstead and Guildford.
“The network is complex and our objective is to ensure disinfection levels are maintained across the entire network and prior to the trial we identified that we did not have levels being maintained in all areas.
Mr Sheehan said the chlorination treatment method itself is not a trial as chlorination is a tried and tested treatment method which is widely used across Australia and internationally.
“The trial is to see if this method of disinfection is suitable for the Castlemaine water supply network,” he said.
The trial results to date show improvements, with further work to be done to improve chlorine levels at the extremities of the network.
“We are still working to improve chlorine levels at the extremities of the network without adversely impacting customers’ drinking water experience.
“The water in Castlemaine continues to be safe and it meets the requirements of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines,” Mr Sheehan said.
For further information please call our Customer Support Team on 1300 363 200 or
1300 COLIBAN or visit our website – www.coliban.com.au