Turn the taps off: Mayor

With Australia already in the midst of a drying El Nino cycle with less rain forecast and daytime temperatures likely to be up to three degrees centigrade above average until late autumn, Council – for the first time since 2023 – has signed on for the “Water Night” promotion.

This environmental awareness initiative calls on locals to turn their taps off and do without the elixir of life from 5–10pm next Thursday, October 22, for National Water Week.

Water Night is a nationwide event that aims to raise awareness of water use in Australia, something that Mayor Josh Black says is just as important for western towns like Dubbo, as anywhere else.

“We’re generally pretty secure with our water supply from the Macquarie River, we can institute some restrictions when Burrendong Dam starts to get lower, and we’ve also got bores, if we need them,” His Honour assured locals.

“But we’re always looking to get more water and, with climate variability, you don’t want to be wasting it,” he added.

With potable drinking water sometimes referred to as “liquid electricity” due to its high energy and infrastructure costs, the Mayor told Dubbo Photo News that capital works and maintenance constitute a high recurrent cost for the region.

In the 2022/23 financial year, for instance, Council’s total expenditure on all drinking water-based assets and operations was nearly $36 million; $23.82 million in operational expenses and $11.90 million in capital works.

“It’s not getting any cheaper, I can tell you that, costs for upgrades and new equipment are just increasing exponentially.

“The thing is that no-one ever thinks about water or sewerage, until something goes wrong,” he observed.

Council, he explained, is encouraging residents to not only sign up for this year’s event, but to also “start a conversation” within their household about the importance of water as a resource and why being mindful and reducing water usage is vital.

“They’re not making any more of it, water is precious, so don’t waste it, while we’re pretty well set-up here, it’s not something to just take for granted.

“Water Night is designed to be the start of long-term behaviour change and for residents to build their water literacy and awareness and ultimately help Australians value water more as a vital resource,” he added.

Residents aren’t always aware of their water consumption on a daily basis, with Water Night aiming to encourage residents to understand their water usage better and look at ways they can change their behaviour at home to conserve water, Cr Black said.

“We encourage residents to sign up to the Water Night challenge and consider their water usage and what changes they can make around the home to reduce their overall water consumption in the future,” Cr Black said.

“Water Night isn’t focused on being restrictive or depriving people of water, so we encourage residents to pre-fill water bottles or containers in preparation for the event,” he concluded.

For more information or to sign-up your household, go to: waternight.com.au

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Fluoride return still-on for later this year

Talking of our water supply, the mayor confirmed that the long-awaited reintroduction of fluoridation into Dubbo’s water supply – after an eight-year break – is still on for before Christmas.

Previous issues this column has recounted in the long-running saga whereby the state government legislated requirement that town water in NSW be fluoridated at all times, had not been followed in Dubbo for years before anyone in authority found out about it.

To recap, in January 2019, the original fluoridation infrastructure at Dubbo's John Gilbert Water Treatment Plant suffered a complete mechanical breakdown with this “legacy setup” using a liquid-based chemical known as fluorosilicic acid (FSA).

Due to internal failures in communication and a lack of transparency within council, the breakdown was kept quiet with the public unaware that the town had no fluoride in its water until then-Mayor Mathew Dickerson found out about it through a stray conversation in 2022.

Rather than patching up the obsolete, corroded liquid system, the Council then decided to construct an entirely different, modernised system utilising a powder-based compound called sodium fluorosilicate.

Cr Dickerson recently got onto Council’s technical staff to ask why the August-September deadline he had been given previously on the new system was no longer valid.

His “Questions On Notice” elicited a rather lengthy response, with the upshot being that Council’s current target for fluoride dosing to recommence is in fact early November, as a Council spokesperson had previously informed Dubbo Photo News.

“Evolution, the principal contractor, has provided its latest program which schedules commissioning and site-specific operator training from November 3 and formal commissioning and handover by November 10,” Council staff wrote to Cr Dickerson.

“This is a programmed target rather than an unconditional guarantee; before dosing can begin, testing and commissioning must confirm the accuracy of the water flow signal and the correct operation of the dosing equipment, instrumentation, and safety interlocks,” the answer concluded.

“We’re still looking at it for the end of the year, although almost all the work has been done, it’s not just up to us, though, the contractor has to sign off on it, and then the State Government provides authorisation that it’s right to go,” Mayor Black revealed.

"We decided to replace the whole lot because, in its concentrated form, fluoride is highly-corrosive, and the system was pretty shot," added.

Fluoride, a “negatively charged ion of the chemical element fluorine” is actually a waste product from the phosphate fertiliser industry, that has been added to town water for 70 years because of its believed benefits to dental health.

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It’s just routine; reservoir cleaning underway

Again on water, reservoir cleaning and inspections are now being undertaken as part of Council’s water maintenance program at all reservoirs in the Dubbo Local Government Area.

Reservoir cleaning will take place for the rest of this month at a total of 32 sites in Dubbo, Eumungerie, Mogriguy, Ballimore, Wongarbon, Geurie, Wellington and Mumbil.

During this time residents may notice water on the roads near some of the reservoirs, which is part of the flushing and cleaning process. The maintenance work is unlikely to impact the supply of drinking water to Dubbo Region.

The cleaning of the reservoirs is undertaken by trained and certified contractors and ensures DRC supplies quality water supply to residents, Council's PR team assured locals.

The work also complements the already-announced water main replacement program for Macquarie, Brisbane, and Tamworth streets where works are being undertaken to renew ageing infrastructure, improve network reliability and reduce the risk of failures and service interruptions.