Ravenshoe and Millstream Water Quality Improvement Project Nearing Completion
Construction of the Ravenshoe and Millstream Water Quality Improvement Project is one of the largest and most complex projects delivered by Tablelands Regional Council (TRC), at a cost of around $18m. The project has been proudly funded through Queensland Government’s ‘Works for Queensland’ program, Local Government grants and subsidies, and ‘Building Our Regions Program’ in collaboration with Tablelands Regional Council.
The project deals with the design and construction of a high-capacity Water Treatment Facility in Ravenshoe, and almost 13 km of new pipeline connecting Millstream to the Ravenshoe water supply scheme. It also includes upgrades to the Millstream Reservoir facilities.
When operating at full functionality, the facility is expected to have an impressive daily treatment capacity of 2.779 megalitres and will consistently provide compliant fresh drinking water to the Ravenshoe and Millstream communities, averting the need for future ‘boil water notices’.
Drinking water treatment plants of this nature involve highly complex design and construction considerations and need to be able to perform under all conditions. In this case, the plant also needs to be able to treat water from two different sources (Millstream and North Cedar Creek) with dramatically varying incoming water qualities throughout the year due to our severe seasonal weather conditions here in Far North Queensland.
This massive project is now in its final stage. The new pipeline is now in place and the plant and related infrastructure has all been constructed. The final stage involves proof of performance testing and water quality compliance testing. This testing is essential to confirm the plant will be able to supply safe and compliant drinking water to the community consistently, in most adverse weather conditions.
Testing of this nature is a regulatory requirement. The Queensland Government, as the drinking water regulator, will not approve the provision of treated water to the community until test results confirm the plant can consistently produce safe drinking water.
Due to the complexity of plant operations, the challenge of treating water from different sources, and the need to test the plant under different weather and water quality conditions, final testing is a long and involved process. There must be multiple rounds of testing under varied conditions, to confirm the plant performs to specification and water supply meets required quality standards.
There have been several initial rounds of testing over past months. Results to date have not yet demonstrated the level of consistency required and this is to be expected for new plant and equipment of this scale. After each round, multiple adjustments are made to operating settings as well as adjustments for the chemicals used for treating the water to make it safe.
It is not yet possible to confirm an exact date the plant will come online, however TRC and the contractor are working together to ensure this happens as soon as practically achievable. TRC will not bring the plant online until testing confirms water supplied is safe to drink.
This project commenced in May 2023, and as often happens with projects of this scale and complexity, there have been obstacles and delays throughout construction, including equipment shipping, weather delays and environmental complications requiring design changes to optimise operation.
It is very exciting to have reached this final stage of a project that will make such a profound positive difference for residents in the Ravenshoe and Millstream region.
You can keep informed about this and other TRC projects through the TRC website.