The NSW Government is moving forward with the highly successful Advanced Operational Support (AOS) initiative, providing assistance to local councils, including grants of up to $150,000 to enhance town drinking water quality across regional NSW.
“Our Advanced Operational Support initiative has already scored big wins for regional towns across the state, and I’m excited to see it open up to even more communities,” New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (NSW DCCEEW) Executive Director of Operations Resilience, Ashraf El-Sherbini, said. “No matter where you live in NSW, nothing is more important than access to quality drinking water, especially as we face a drier and more variable climate which could bring more challenges to utility operators and more water quality risks than ever before.
Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are now open until 10 July, and NSW DCCEEW is calling on councils to get involved in improving the safety and reliability of their local town water supply.
The project supports councils in improving the operation of water treatment plants to optimise performance and ensure existing infrastructure is better equipped to respond to water quality issues.
This might include installing new equipment to provide 24-hour monitoring of water quality at critical control points, with triggers that enable the automatic shutdown of parts of the network if necessary, ensuring that water piped to customers is always safe.
Hay Shire Council is one of the councils that has recently completed these upgrades to boost the operation of its water treatment plant as part of the broad support it’s received under the program over the past 12 months.
“This has been a very successful initiative that has been instrumental in elevating the reliability and compliance of our water treatment operations,” Hay Shire Mayor Carol Oataway said. “This collaboration is a strong example of what can be achieved when local and state programs work hand-in-hand.”
The AOS also enables councils to access on-the-ground technical support from NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW) staff, including training for local water operators, and a prioritised roadmap detailing opportunities for immediate and ongoing operational improvement.
Applications will be considered based on a range of criteria, including risks to water quality, operational performance, and plant efficiency.
It follows the most recent AOS $3.4 million investment, which has supported 18 local councils, including many with at-risk water infrastructure in some of the state’s driest regions, particularly in drought-impacted communities.
The AOS is part of the Town Water Risk Reduction Program, which works closely with councils and local water utilities to address issues such as water quality, dam safety, and training for utility operators.
“This initiative will play a pivotal role, allowing us to work hand-in-glove with even more councils to optimise the performance of their water treatment plants. By investing in smart, cost-efficient upgrades to existing infrastructure, we’re enabling local water utilities to respond to water quality issues faster and more effectively,” El-Sherbini said. “Many regional communities have already reaped the huge benefits of this support, and I urge councils from every corner of NSW to learn more and lodge an EOI before 10 July.”
For more information and to submit an EOI for the next round, visit the website.
