Murray River Council’s Water Management Team have undertaken maintenance works aimed at improving the filtered water pressure in Barham including the modification of pipework, with a new booster pump to be installed once modelling is complete to improve water pressure reliability.
Pipework was recently modified at Barham’s Punt Road reservoir to allow for temporary pumps to be connected; allowing maintenance works to be undertaken on the distribution network without affecting pressure or supply.
This maintenance work involved flushing the mains and should now further improve the filtered water taste and offer some moderate improvements to flows.
Council’s Director Infrastructure, Jack Bond, said the team are now completing additional detailed modelling on flows to help inform a permanent solution to the pressure issues.
“We know Barham has experienced water pressure issues for some time due to a gradual population increase and additional development in the area,” Mr Bond said.
“This is also particularly intensified during periods of hot weather when there is increased demand on the network, despite having access to raw water too.
“Our recent works are a positive starting point to improve the water pressure locally, before we install a more permanent booster pump solution.”
The current network modelling analyses pressure and flow during peak periods and non-peak periods – which can affect chlorine levels – within strict New South Wales Health Guidelines.
Once modelling is complete, a booster pump will be installed on the town’s filtered water network to improve water pressure reliability.
Following a long period of raw water metering, an analysis will also be completed for the raw water network before looking to improve the pressure issues there as well.
