Water restriction lifted as salt level improves

Tuesday 29 August 2017

The voluntary water restrictions have been lifted on outdoor uses for Tweed town water, after Council has taken a number of measures to address the effects of salt water entering Bray Park Weir.

Manager Water and Wastewater Anthony Burnham said dredging at the weir, steps to modify how water was drawn from the weir and scouring of mains pipes had succeeded in producing town water supplies with lower salt contents over the weekend.

The improved water quality has assisted Council to refill reservoirs throughout Tweed Shire. However, the ongoing presence of elevated salt levels means this salty taste is now affecting more consumers than last week.

Immediate water restrictions were put in place in Tweed Shire on 22 August after a combination of climatic conditions caused salt water in Tweed River to surge over the weir wall: a run of higher-than-expected tides up to 420mm above predicted levels, higher salinity levels offshore and warmer ocean temperatures.

Mr Burnham thanked the community for minimising water use while Council worked to bring salt levels down.

“The community response bought us time to drain the worst affected parts of the system before demand for water forced us to release water with higher than normal salt levels into the system,” he said.

“Ninety megalitres of water has been released from Clarrie Hall Dam each day to top up the good supplies, while dredging works drew the heavier salty water from the depths of the weir pool and discharged it back downstream.

“Salt levels again marginally improved at Bray Park Weir during the weekend as a result.”

Mr Burnham emphasised the water has remained safe to drink in line with Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

He said the water is also suitable for outdoor use, such as washing cars but some care should be taken when watering salt-intolerant plants or for use in freshwater fish tanks.

“Dredging is ongoing and we are continuing to release water from Clarrie Hall Dam. We expect water quality in the weir will continue to improve during the next three to five days,” he said.

The Uki and Tyalgum villages have a separate water treatment system and are not affected.