Power and Water’s new Tennant Creek chlorination facility has officially been opened by the State Minister for Essential Services, Hon Willem Westra van Holthe MLA.
The new facility brings the Tennant Creek community into line with other communities of similar size across Australia.
Prior to the installation of continuous chlorination, Tennant Creek’s water supply was hand-dosed with chlorine in reaction to contamination events. In fact, there were 48 such events over the previous five years with a number of Water Boil Alerts being issued by the Department of Health.
Hand dosing of chlorine means higher doses of chlorine are needed than are used in continuous chlorination. Continuous chlorination is the safest and most cost-effective method of ensuring drinking water meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. It is the preferred method across the world.
The new continuous chlorination facility was constructed off-site and relocated to Tennant Creek in October 2014. The plant site and services work was carried out by local contractors.
The installation of the new continuous chlorination facility means the community of Tennant Creek can enjoy a consistent, reliable and safe drinking water supply that meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. This is good for the community, business, tourism and future development options.
