Water to flow during storm events

By Lachlan Ellis

One year on from freak storms that cut power and damaged properties across Moorabool, a local water authority has invested in bolstering water access during any future storm events.

Central Highlands Water (CHW) invested $160,000 in its Blackwood Water Treatment Plant to commission a new generator, which was completed in June.

A CHW spokesperson said the new generator would give some confidence to locals that their water supply would continue in the event of another major storm or general outage, after last year’s storms knocked power out in Blackwood for days.

“During the significant storm event in July 2021, the Blackwood Water Treatment Plant was inaccessible, and the site’s power supply was interrupted for a number of continuous days. While customers continued to have access to water, the weather event highlighted the increased risk of power outages and safe access at this location,” CHW’s spokesperson told the Moorabool News.

“The new generator will provide additional certainty of a secure and continued water supply for the community of Blackwood in the event of future power outages. The generator has the capacity to provide up to 48 hours of back-up power before needing to be refuelled, meaning that the site can continue to operate remotely and recover quickly.

“This upgrade will provide reassurance and confidence to our customers that their water supply is resilient, and that the continuity of supply is a priority for Central Highlands Water.”

The generator project will also improve safety – two days after the July 2021 storms, CHW staff installed a temporary generator to return the plant to full operations, with the assistance of emergency services.

The new permanent generator will remove that need for staff to attend the site during significant weather events.