Seqwater will soon reverse the flow of water in stage 1 of the Northern Pipeline Interconnector (NPI), for the first time supplying the Sunshine Coast with water sourced from North Pine Dam, near Petrie (QLD).
The NPI flow reversal will reduce the draw on the Sunshine Coast’s Lake Baroon during what is traditionally a dry time of year.
Seqwater Chief Executive Officer Peter Dennis said the switching of the NPI to supplement the Sunshine Coast supply from outside the region demonstrated the benefit of an integrated bulk water supply network.
“Seqwater’s integrated network allows us to move water around South East Queensland to where it’s most needed,” Mr Dennis said.
“Water security across the region remains high. Having an integrated network means that the Sunshine Coast no longer has to rely on its local sources of water.
“We intend to have the water flow in a northerly direction along the NPI for a month but will monitor water supplies on a daily basis and adjust if required.”
Mr Dennis said stage 1 of the NPI, between Moreton Bay and the Landers Shute Water Treatment Plant near Montville, was completed in 2009 but had only ever operated in a southerly direction for operational purposes.
“NPI stage 2, between the Landers Shute Water Treatment Plant and Noosa Water Treatment Plant, has flowed in both directions. It has been reversed several times this year as we balance water storage and supply needs across the network,” he said.
“But apart from a test when stage 2 of the pipeline was commissioned in 2012, we have never needed to pump water along stage 1.
“So this is the first time that both stages will flow north together.”
“The reversal of the NPI and supply of water north from North Pine Water Treatment Plant will reduce dependency on Lake Baroon, resulting in the Landers Shute Water Treatment Plant reducing production from around 100 mega litres a day to about 50 mega litres a day.”
Mr Dennis said assets such as the NPI enabled Seqwater to continue to deliver a safe, secure and reliable bulk water supply for South East Queensland.
