Work is close to complete on a new 30 million litre earth bank storage at SA Water’s Morgan Water Treatment Plant.

Installation of the double-lined and covered storage has started. It is the main component of a $15 million upgrade of the Riverland treatment plant, which will bring its total water storage capacity to 42 million litres.

SA Water’s General Manager of Asset Operations and Delivery Mark Gobbie said the primary function of the 100 by 50 metre storage is to securely hold water after being treated and before it’s distributed to customers, but at Morgan, there will also be an added community benefit.

“Rainfall captured from the storage’s cover will be used to irrigate bowling greens at the neighbouring Morgan Bowling Club, with the water to be diverted to a small tank at the club,” Mr Gobbie said.

“This is a win for its members in terms of helping their site continue to be nice and green, but also for the environment, with a sustainable use of the water.

“We’re pleased to help the club, who have been so supportive throughout the treatment plant upgrade, including allowing our contractor, Leed Engineering and Construction, to temporarily use some of their land and facilities.

“This initiative is similar to another joint venture we have with the District Council of the Copper Coast and Paskeville Progress Association which involves the use of rain captured from the top of one of our Yorke Peninsula storage lagoons to water local sporting grounds.”

The Morgan Water Treatment Plant upgrade began in April and is scheduled to be complete in early-2019.

“The key part of this project is the new in-ground storage with a cover and primary and secondary liners, which are all made from a durable geomembrane-coated textile, and in total make up more than 30,000 square-metres,” Mr Gobbie said.

“The liners act as a double barrier against any potential leaks. Initial leak testing of the storage has also shown 100 per cent compliance to date.

“Based on national standards and our planned maintenance schedule, we expect the storage liner to last at least 30 years, before it has to be replaced.

“Other key works being undertaken as part of the project are the installation of a filter backwash tank and an additional 130 metres of underground pipework at the treatment plant site.

“This new infrastructure will help to ensure the filtration and disinfection stages in our water treatment process continue to be safe, efficient and can manage an expected increase in demand.

“The plant treats raw water from the River Murray, which typically contains suspended dirt, organic material and microorganisms, so it goes through a number of processes to clean and treat it.

“This includes filtering to cleanse the water of fine particles, and the use of chloramine to disinfect it, which is needed to prevent microorganisms re-growing while the water flows through the long distribution pipeline.”

The Morgan Water Treatment Plant supplies safe, clean drinking water through the 358-kilometre Morgan to Whyalla Pipeline to more than 130,000 properties from the state’s mid north all the way to central Eyre Peninsula.