Mount Gambier supply to temporarily switch for Blue Lake/Warwar upgrade

Mount Gambier’s water supply will temporarily switch from its typical source of the Blue Lake/Warwar to a local borefield next week and again in late August, as part of SA Water’s $2.5 million upgrade at the Blue Lake/Warwar’s pump station.

Starting on Monday 27 July, the city’s supply will switch to groundwater bores for about a week until the Blue Lake/Warwar is temporarily brought back online, before another 3-week switch from Monday 24 August.

This temporary change will enable SA Water to take the Blue Lake/Warwar offline while its pump station’s control and electrical systems are upgraded.

Three pumping units are operated at the site to deliver between 9 and 12 million litres of drinking water per day to 3 storage tanks within the network, which then supply homes and businesses across the regional city.

SA Water’s Manager of Regional Water Security Simon Sherriff said the local community may recall last year’s successful trial supply switch, which informed planning for the upcoming pump station upgrade.

“This was an important step in preparing for the upgrade, as it gave us the confidence that we can supply customers for a sustained period during winter while the pump station is offline,” Simon said.

“Specifically, it enabled us to test that our approach to operating the 2 groundwater bores maintained all aquifer, tank and salinity levels within preferred operating ranges.

“The upgrade to the Blue Lake/Warwar pumps will see us replacing equipment at the end of its planned operating life, such as the power distribution board, chlorine dosing control panel, fibre optic cables and communications software.

“These components work together to power the pump station, making this project critical to maintaining ongoing reliability of water supply from the Blue Lake/Warwar for Mount Gambier.

“The transition from the Blue Lake/Warwar to the local bores, and back again, should be seamless for our customers, with no interruptions expected to their water supply as we switch between sources.

“Typically, only people who are sensitive to changes in their water might notice a subtle difference.

“Depending on the individual, these differences may include the water’s taste, colour, odour or hardness.

“This is because the characteristics of the water from the bores differ to that of the Blue Lake/Warwar, since they come from different groundwater aquifers – the bores access a deeper, confined aquifer.

“Importantly, these changes are purely aesthetic, and I want to assure our customers water supplied from the bores is safe to drink.”