Coliban Water is set to deliver an almost $500 million capital investment program, one of the largest in the water authority’s history.
Coliban Water Managing Director, Damian Wells, said as the business enters year two of its five-year regulated pricing period, monitored by the Essential Services Commission, it was an opportunity to reflect on its progress.
“Fronting up to the key challenges of climate change, population growth and ageing assets shaped our pricing submission in 2023. We’re now delivering on these commitments we made for our region,” Mr Wells said.
“We know the decisions we make today are delivering value for our customers while ensuring readiness to serve future generations. We are guided by our renewed strategy dhelk gatjin dhelk balak (healthy water, healthy people), providing us with a fresh approach to serve current and future communities.
“We want to demonstrate a sustained track record of performance, continue to pursue operational excellence and be a reliable, efficient water utility for our customers. As we step into year two of this journey, we have a solid foundation to build from, with 2023–24 proving to be a strong year of performance.”
To date, Coliban Water has delivered $73 million in its annual capital program. Annual investment has more than doubled in three years (from $31.3 million in 2020–21) and will continue to grow, with some very large projects ahead.
This includes a major upgrade of the Bendigo and Castlemaine water reclamation plants, and the utility said that there are plans to break ground at the Bendigo site in Epsom for the first stage of upgrades near the end of 2025.
Drinking water networks and treatment processes have been improved, from Echuca in the north to Trentham in the south, including key growth areas of Epsom, Huntly and Marong.
“The investment we’re making now across the board will benefit almost 180,000 people who call our region home, through the delivery of core water and wastewater services we provide, and our environmental stewardship,” Mr Wells said.
“We’ve also doubled our Coliban Assist program. Including utility relief grants, we have provided more than $1 million in financial support to reach thousands of customers who needed extra support.”
Coliban Water said that a number of flood recovery works have also been completed, including reinstatement of the Lake Eppalock Pump Station, which suffered major damage in 2022. The pump station is one of the region’s most crucial pieces of water infrastructure, and work included upgrades to internal switchboards, pumps and motors to improve long-term sustainability of the asset. It is now easier to operate and safer for those working onsite.
“For our staff, we’ve reduced the gender wage gap from nine per cent to three per cent, with the most senior levels of our business achieving gender equity. We’ve improved staff engagement and satisfaction for the third year in a row,” Mr Wells said.
“We’re also on track to be a 100 per cent renewable energy consumer by 2025 and deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
“There is so much more to come as we continue to grow and deliver the water and sewerage services on which we all rely. We know that resilient assets will address long term water security for our region.”
What Coliban Water achieved in 2023–24:
- A total of $2 million was invested at the Pyramid Hill Water Treatment Plant to refurbish the clarifiers and filters.
- An $11 million upgrade of Echuca Water Treatment Plant was completed. The works included the installation of two 3.3ML water storage tanks along with new pumps, a pump station and a new ultraviolet water filtration system.
- The utility invested $5.8 million to deliver the 5km Epsom-Huntly Pipeline, which improved water pressure and capacity for more than 6200 households. It is one of the largest water supply pipeline projects installed in our region recently.
- A new 10ha Biosolids Base was completed at Dunolly, to help process biosolids for sustainable reuse later, on farmland.
- A new 1.2ML clear water storage was brought online at Trentham to increase the capacity and efficiency of Coliban Water’s plant and network.
- The utility wrapped up its largest-ever program of water and sewer main renewals, with $8.5 million invested. This included 16.8km of water main renewals and 25km of sewer main renewals at more than 60 sites.
- The utility invested $2.5 million to renew sections of the Coliban Main Channel, with another $1.9 million in coming years.
- Works to remediate erosion at Campbells Creek were completed, with further significant works planned for Castlemaine Water Reclamation Plant during this pricing period.
- The clear water storage liner at Specimen Hill Reservoir and at Bendigo Water Treatment Plant were replaced, to protect drinking water supplies for a population of 110,000.
- The utility spent $1.1 million to refurbish Elmore Water Tower, which increased storage capacity and improved water pressure for the town.
- The water treatment processes at Cohuna, Korong Vale, Laanecoorie and Leitchville have been upgraded, as part of day-to-day efficiency and improving the water supply the utility provides to customers.
- More than 19,932ML of drinking water was supplied to customers across the utility’s region.
- Approximately 350ML of recycled water was supplied to keep parks and gardens green. This includes Bendigo’s Rosalind Park and the Garden for the Future in White Hills.
- A total of 13,210ML of wastewater was collected and treated at Coliban Water’s water reclamation plants across the region.
- More than 500km of water mains were cleaned across the region.
- The utility delivered approximately 2491ML of rural water to 672 licence holders, and continued development of a major business case to modernise its rural supply network.
Despite these achievements, Coliban Water said that there’s a lot more to do – with a further $20 million planned for renewal works between now and 2028.
Featured image: Graham Drew Photography/shutterstock.com.
