VICTOR HARBOR – The state government has been challenged to cancel the licence to discharge treated wastewater into the Inman River.
The challenge came last Thursday in the form of a question to the Minister for the Environment, Jay Weatherill, from the Member for Finniss, Michael Pengilly.
Mr Pengilly reasoned that if SA Water no longer had an outlet to dump its effluent, it would be forced to be more active in pursuing reuse options.
He told State Parliament how for many years the Inman River had been the dumping ground for SA Water’s treated wastewater.
“The organic levels in the river are high, and the community wish to know when the situation will be alleviated by further uses,” Mr Pengilly said.
Mr Weatherill has vowed to get a report prepared in answer to the question.
The new wastewater treatment plant opened more than three years ago and, to date, SA Water has found outlets for only 171 megalitres a year, leaving about 650 megalitres to be released into the Inman River and out to sea.
The Hindmarsh Valley Reservoir has a holding capacity of about 440 megalitres and the United Utilities wastewater treatment plant produces about 2.27 megalitres of effluent each day.
According to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), which provides a licence to allow discharge of effluent into the river, United Utilities Australia, the operators of the treatment plant, holds the licence to discharge.
This is despite the fact that United Utilities does not have responsibility for the effluent once it leaves the plant and is sent to the nearby former Hindmarsh Valley Reservoir for storage, which is controlled by SA Water. It is SA Water which has control of the water, and can offer it for sale or choose to dump it in the Inman River.
The licensed discharge point is at the site of the old Victor Harbor wastewater treatment plant on Henderson Road, which is owned by SA Water.
The licence is for a five-year period, due to expire on February 28, 2011.
Its conditions state that effluent can be discharged from March to November on two days out of seven or more often if the flow in the Inman River exceeds 10 megalitres a day.
As well, from May to November, it can be discharged on any day if it’s necessary to prevent the Hindmarsh Valley Reservoir from overflowing.
Although the licence prohibits the discharge of effluent from December to February, the EPA reserves the right to allow discharge to occur.
The EPA does not monitor the quantity of water discharged – and there is no restriction on how much can be discharged – and it leaves the responsibility for monitoring water quality to United Utilities, which can only monitor the water up until it leaves the wastewater treatment plant, not when it leaves the reservoir for discharge to the river.
When it leaves the plant, the water is deemed to be ‘A Class’ and is tested daily for compliance.
The EPA acknowledges that the water does sit in the reservoir for some time and despite the absence of official checks, the spokesman says it (the water) “does not, in our view, deteriorate”.
“There is some minor growth of algae and minor faecal coliform contamination from birdlife on the reservoir, but this will happen in the river anyway,” the spokesman said.
“The main parameters of concern are nitrogen and phosphorus which are treated to very low levels by the new treatment plant. Storage in the reservoir does not make these increase.”
SA WATER: 'WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS"
VICTOR HARBOR – A new chlorination plant has just been commissioned at the Victor Harbor wastewater treatment plant.
An SA Water spokesperson says the plant will be managed by United Utilities.
It is understood to have been installed following the successful trial of a pilot chlorinator for the private wastewater reuse scheme around Finniss Road in Victor Harbor that was spearheaded by the former Member for Finniss, Dean Brown.
The chlorinator ensures the water used for irrigation meets SA Health guidelines.
The spokesperson said SA Water was working with the City of Victor Harbor to develop a reuse scheme to supply high quality recycled water to sports fields and open spaces within the city.
“We are currently finalising specific details including design, costs and funding with the council,” the spokesperson said.
“Once this scheme begins we anticipate an additional 100-megalitres of recycled water per year will be used by council.”
As well, SA Water says it’s also working with other potential customers that could further increase reuse by an extra 150-megalitres.
Customers who receive water directly from SA Water infrastructure pay 30 cents a kilolitre.
“The cost to any new customers is yet to be determined and would be dependent on further infrastructure requirements, upgrades and extensions,” the spokesperson said.
When challenged about why it has taken over three years to find a use for only 20-percent of the effluent produced, the SA Water spokesperson said that during the cooler months there was not the demand for recycled water.
“Which means the treated water needs to be discharged,” the spokesperson said.
“SA Water is continually investigating potential re-use options to further increase the amount of recycled water that can be reused from the Victor Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant.”
The Hindmarsh Valley Reservoir is currently holding about 356 megalitres of water (about 81-percent of its capacity).
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