More than 100 construction jobs are expected to be created as part of a $36 million upgrade for South East Queensland’s (SEQ) water treatment plant.
The Mt Crosby East Bank Water Treatment Plant in the west of Brisbane will undergo a filtration upgrade to improve its resilience to extreme weather events, climate change and to enhance water supply security for the region.
The project is expected to take more than two and a half years to complete and will deliver major improvements to the plant’s filter design and control.
The aim of the upgrade is to help it be more able to treat water with high levels or turbidity of sediment, which can result from extreme rainfall events that wash soil and debris into creeks and waterways.
Work is being staged to ensure the water supply is maintained. Six filters will be taken offline at a time.
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Filters are an essential part of the water treatment process, as they assist with clarifying the water prior to disinfection.
Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham said the Mt Crosby water treatment plants are critical to the operation of the SEQ Water Grid and can provide up to half of the regions daily water supply.
“It will significantly improve the plant’s ability to maintain water supply during extreme rain events and flooding to further improve the water supply security of our region,” he said.
Seqwater Chief Executive Officer Neil Brennan said the water grid would be used to supplement Brisbane’s water supply when the refurbishment works were being undertaken.
“Taking filters offline will result in reduced production at East Bank, with the water grid and other treatment plants across the region helping to supplement supply to Brisbane and Ipswich during the project,’’ he said.
“This project will ensure East Bank can continue to supply safe and reliable drinking water to SEQ well into the future and be better equipped to deal with impact of climate change.”