By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Central Highlands Water (CHW) invested $160,000 in its Blackwood Water Treatment Plant to commission a new generator, which was completed in June.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s storms knocked power out in Blackwood for days.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the significant storm event in July 2021, the Blackwood Water Treatment Plant was inaccessible, and the site\u2019s 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,\u201d CHW\u2019s spokesperson told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The generator project will also improve safety \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
The new permanent generator will remove that need for staff to attend the site during significant weather events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n