Thread: Treated sewage on ovals

Yeah, that's a whole other conversation right there...

Well, what do you know - I made it until midnight - happy new year.

Originally Posted by bacicat

I don't see what the big deal is in this country with everyone being paranoid about recycled water being added to the drinking water. Has anyone here ever visited a major city in Europe? Most cities over there are the same, but let's take London as an example. Who here has been to London and drunk the water out of the tap?

If you have then you've drunk recycled water. The water that comes out the tap comes from the Thames - that makes the Yarra look like spring water, it is treated, then used by everyone. The sewage is treated by RO and pumped back into the Thames where it all starts again.

The water that from the RO plants I've worked on produce AAA quality water and have more safety systems in them to prevent contamination than you can imagine. The water is clean and safe to drink - simple. You drink the water out your Tap now that fish crap in...

We are the driest continent on earth and we have limited and dwindling fresh water supplies. I think it makes much more sense than building desal plants - the recycled water is much cheaper to turn into fresh water than sea water is.

I don't see what all the fuss is about...

It's been estimated that by the time water has flowed from one end of the Thames to the other, it has passed through 7 human bodies.

Adds a bit of flavour.

We use treated water for dust suppression and other non drinking uses at port kembla and there are no smells or discoloration . If the water is smelly get the OHSE committee involved because if a kid gets sick from playing on those field the untreated effluent will hit the fan . As it will if one of the council workers gets ill from maintaining those grounds. Put in a request that it gets tested 1-2 Times a day for a certain period that will continue if bacteria levels are high.
The only problem could be that the local either groundspeople or gardeners have decided to fertilise their fields/gardens(no footy or cricket for a few weeks+ schools out till end of Jan)and combined that with high temps and water have made a stench.

We have a desalination plant and a recycled water scheme built during the recent drought when Brisbane water storage was down to 10% of capacity and Toowoomba virtually down to zero. Supplies being pumped in. Very strict water conservation rules were applied. The desalination plant is mothballed. The authority has trouble selling the recycled water. The original intent was to pump the recycled water into the main storages and be treated with the rest of the storage. Public opinion was firmly against this so it never happened.

Sydney is already drinking recycled water, especially if your supply comes from Warragamba.

There are a number of sewage treatment plants that discharge into the Wollondilly River and Wingecarribee Rivers, ie Bowral STP, Goulburn STP and Lithgow STP.

Water from Winmallee STP eventually finds its way into the Richmond/Windsor water treatment plants.

Interestingly when the water treatment facility was being built at Woronora Dam the french company couldn't work out why we were building it as the inflow water was better quality than the outflow from their treatment plants in France (admittedly we're talking some 15 years ago).
Incidentally this was one of the few dams that did not require water to be boiled during the cryptosporidium/giardia problems in 1997.

Treated sewage is used to irrigate ovals etc around the Woolaware area, can't say I've heard any complaints about smell, it's picked up from the discharge out of Cronulla STP and subject to some further treatment before being used.


Martyn

Back on topic...

Andy, are you sure the smell is from the oval and not the treatment tanks?

All WWTPs I have seen before have been required to test the water daily, not weekly.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

We have a desalination plant and a recycled water scheme built during the recent drought when Brisbane water storage was down to 10% of capacity and Toowoomba virtually down to zero. Supplies being pumped in. Very strict water conservation rules were applied. The desalination plant is mothballed. The authority has trouble selling the recycled water. The original intent was to pump the recycled water into the main storages and be treated with the rest of the storage. Public opinion was firmly against this so it never happened.

There was a current affairs special on Poowoomba. For comparison, they highlighted a few towns and suburbs in NSW that had dual water reticulation systems. A much more acceptable idea.

Originally Posted by 87County

Thanks for posting the link Andrew - from your description and the content of the approval that you linked to, the operator (the Council?) may be contravening the licence.

Did the person that prepared the risk assessment understand the project and does the operator have the requisite skills to operate the sytem correctly?

I would be getting onto the EPA without delay and if you have a tame solicitor, talk to him as well.

I gather that you are employed the Council and obviously you need to take care not to jeopardise your job, but nobody should have to put up with that kind of pollution.

Maybe get one of the councillers around while it's bad to have a sniff.

There's one of these systems operating in the Moonbi/Kootigal area (NSW) with none of the issues you are describing.

Its not owned by the shire,we just get the use of the surplus water.
Im sure it will get sorted.No need running to the EPA or lawyers,Im sure if there is a problem we will just turn the pipe off and go back to the railway dam and scheme water for the oval until its sorted!!!!
Last nite was OK as far a smell goes,acceptable.
I was merely seeking to see what smell others experience from similar systems.
Andrew