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Water Supply StrategyLast modified: August 13, 2008 - 2:44 PM
The recently completed Integrated Water Cycle Management Study identified the need of water source improvements.
Yass, Bowning and Binalong are all provided with water from the Yass Water Treatment Plant which sources water from the River via the Yass Dam. To ensure a potable water supply was provided to the town, the first water treatment facility was constructed in 1938. This was replaced with a modern higher capacity treatment facility in 1990, which includes dissolved air flotation and rapid gravity sand filtration. The plant is designed to treat a flow of 165 l/s or 13 ML/day. Bowning and Binalong were connected to this Yass water supply in 1990. Prior to this date Bowning did not have a water supply and Binalong was supplied via an old railway reticulation system from Illalong Dam. Murrumbateman has an independent water supply which was developed in 1984 from groundwater. Water is untreated and is drawn from a bore located within the grounds of the Murrumbateman Recreation Ground. The long term security of water for the Yass Water Supply system and the Murrumbateman system needs to be established.
The Yass Water Supply is dependent on the flows in the Yass River. Under extreme drought conditions without the implementation of water restrictions, the capacity of the Yass Dam is only sufficient to supply average summer demand for a period of 4 to 5 months. In seeking to address the water situation, Council directed resources to the following three options to ensure a suitable solution could be derived in a timely manner.
Pipeline from ACT Border Though the pipeline from ACT appeared technically feasible and the ultimate long term solution, cross border issues and political barriers again provided an impediment to a speedy resolution. The technical feasibility study has been completed and will be a useful document when considering a long term option. The concept of the off river storage is to build another dam at a site 3 km upstream of Yass dam to harvest and store a proportion of the high flows in Yass River. This storage would then be released back to Yass River during low flow periods for subsequent extraction. The proposed site allows for the construction of 450 ML storage and associated pumping facilites. The estimated cost is $8.5M. Geotechnical investigation and the concept design have been completed. The cost/benefit of this project do not compare favourably with 'Raising the Yass Dam Wall'. Further studies will not be undertaken unless negative results arise from the dam raising project. Initially, Council carried out a seismic study and geotechnical investigation to determine the structural capacity of Yass dam to hold further storage. Results were found to be positive. Various height options were analysed and a three metre rise was considered to be the most cost effective. Raising the dam using 14 strand post tensioning anchors at 3m intervals, anchored into the foundation rock with new concrete at the crest will retain additional storage of 1,500ML. The estimated cost for construction is $8.8M. The total cost of this project is estimated to be around $13M, covering additional requirements such as construction of a new Morton Avenue bridge, improvement of upstream fish passages, land acquisition and river riparian improvements. The Department of Commerce has been engaged to carry out the design and prepare tender documents. The work is progressing well and the target completion date remains at December 2011. It is unlikely that any technical constraints will hinder the design phase. The greatest areas of concern to ensure that the project meets the target date are land acquisitions and environmental issues. The directions for water supply has far reaching implications across the Yass Valley LGA. Council has established a Local Water Committee to assist data collection and assessment of issues affecting stakeholders within the Yass Valley LGA. Contact details | ||||||||||||||
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© 2008 Yass Valley Council |
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