Yorke Peninsula towns tap in to better water

Around 1500 people living and working in the Yorke Peninsula towns of Warooka and Point Turton are now receiving a more secure supply of high quality drinking water through a newly-constructed pipeline.

Construction of the 38.5 kilometre pipeline, along with all associated testing and operational changeover of the towns’ water source from bore field to River Murray, is now complete.

SA Water’s General Manager of Asset Operations and Delivery Mark Gobbie said some customers may notice a slightly different taste or smell to their new water, which is a result of the different water source and treatment process.

“Our long River Murray pipeline supplies are treated with chloramine, that unlike chlorine which is used to disinfect many of our supplies across South Australia, has less of a distinct smell and taste,” Mark said.

“More than 220,000 SA Water customers currently enjoy drinking water treated by chloramine. This includes supplies produced from the Morgan and Woolpunda water treatment plants, which have both been awarded title of best tasting water in the state in recent years.

“Water for the two Yorke Peninsula towns is now treated through the Morgan or Swan Reach Water Treatment Plant and then transported through the new pipeline, which connects to our existing network at Minlaton, before being piped to homes and businesses.”

In the lead-up to the supply changeover, SA Water provided important information to the Warooka and Point Turton communities on practical things to be aware of both during and after the switch.

“We offered specific advice to home dialysis patients and aquarium or pond owners on minor changes they needed to make or things to remember when using the new chloraminated water,” Mark said.

“Some people may now also be experiencing a change in the ‘feel’ of tap water on their tastebuds as well as how soap lather. This is a normal result of the change in treatment process.”

SA Water and contractor Leed Engineering and Construction completed a number of improvements to the local water network as part of the $9 million million upgrade. This includes construction of a new booster pump station along the pipeline route, 1.25 kilometres of new water main in Point Turton and re-roofing of the existing Warooka storage tank.

The towns’ water supply was previously sourced from a bore field in the Para-Wurlie Basin in lower Yorke Peninsula. Extensive modelling by SA Water shows the bore field wasn’t adequate to meet future drinking water demand.

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