Water Treatment Plan In Melbourne Water - Case Study Example

• • Introduction

According to [1, p. 3], Melbourne population is projected to grow from 4.087 million recorded in 2012 to 4.8 million in 2031. Besides, there will be numerous major shifts in the demographics of Victoria by 2031; a population that is rapidly ageing, deteriorating rates of fertility and declining household size. Water supply will increase tremendously because of the population growth; thus, leading to more pressure on the natural catchments and the need for alternative options for Melbourne water supply. The present Melbourne’s water stress has resulted in the consideration of alternative sources of water. Moreover, there are numerous on-going programs conducted by Melbourne Water with the goal of protecting water supplies in Melbourne, which includes storm water improvement programs, river restoration works, catchment protection and management so as to lessen the contamination risk of water supplies as well as emergency response and fire protection plans. The objective of the report is to understand how Melbourne Water practices sustainable engineering.

• • Methodology

Information used in this report is based on the data collected during the field trip to Melbourne Water, online sources, annual report and scholarly papers. The figure below show some pictures taken during the field trip.

• • Water Storage Reservoirs
• Melbourne Water a number of reservoirs; Thomson is the biggest with a capacity of 1,068 gigalitres (GL) and sources water from Thomson catchment. Other reservoirs include Upper Yarra with a capacity of 200 GL, Yan Yean (37 GL), Maroondah (22 GL), and (3 GL) and there water sources include Upper Yarra catchment; Winneke treatment plant, Silvan Reservoir and Torourrong catchment; Graceburn Creek Aqueduct and Watts River catchment; and Smith Creek and O’Shannassy River respectively. Besides that, the connection of North-South Pipeline to Melbourne in 2010 significantly improved water supply to the city. Melbourne Water has to this point completed a number of upgrades to its water supply system; for instance, they increased the Winneke Water Treatment Plant capacity so as to make sure Sugarloaf Reservoir handles more water. Furthermore, a new pump station was built at Preston with the goal of distributing water from Yan Yean, Cardinia and Sugarloaf reservoirs far and wide across Melbourne. The projects have without a doubt improved the Melbourne Water supply capacity and have made Sugarloaf Reservoir more reachable. In consequence, flexibility in the management of the water system has improved tremendously and the demand on large reservoirs such as Thomson has been reduced.
  • Upgrading Reservoirs and Water Treatment Plants

To meet the increasing demand on water supply, Melbourne Water has started upgrading some water treatment plants and reservoirs. In February 2016, the company started upgrading the Greenvale Water Treatment Plant, wherein a new water treatment plant will be installed. The goal of the project is to meet the growing demand on water supply as well as to improve the operations safety. According to [ HYPERLINK \l "Mel16" 2 ], it is imperative to upgrade the treatment plant so that it can meet the future population growth projections as well as improve the plant efficiency. Besides that, Melbourne water is planning to renew some sections of the M40 water main between Merri Creek and the Preston reservoirs. The sections are believed to be almost a century old. Towards the end of January 2016, Melbourne Water concluded the planning of the project, whereby a new 1700mm pipeline was proposed, and will be constructed in the existing pipe track. For some years, the M40 water main has been leaking, and had led to serious disruption to Melbournians. The project completion will enable Melbourne Water to continue supplying reliable, safe and high quality drinking water and also improve the supply network capacity.