Stafford’s Sparkes Hill reservoir in South East Queensland has undergone a major upgrade to improve water quality.
The reservoir, owned by Seqwater, is one the biggest in Brisbane and can hold 94 megalitres of water—the equivalent of 39 Olympic swimming pools. It was built in 1973 to service the growing Stafford area.
Remediation works included repairs to floor seals, wall seals and the addition of a liquid rubber membrane across the entire roof structure to improve water quality.
Another water quality initiative was the introduction of new mixers and level instrumentation, which improve operational control and encourage the healthy flow of water through all areas of the reservoir.
To minimise scaffolding requirements during the upgrade, workers were able to access the reservoir using six elevated work platforms, which were hoisted into position by an 80 tonne crane. A 12-metre by six-metre access hole was made in the roof of the reservoir for the duration of the project.
The upgrade was completed within a scheduled six-month outage by a crew of 20. It was competed in mid-October, ahead of the wet season. A decommissioned second reservoir at Sparkes Hill was brought back into service while work on the reservoir was carried out.
Before allowing the main reservoir to be returned to service, Seqwater ensured extensive testing for structural integrity and water quality compliance, including a complete disinfection process to ensure subsequent water storage meets all current standards and regulatory guidelines.
Sparkes Hill reservoir is supplied by North Pine Water Treatment Plant in the north and Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant in the west.
The works were the most extensive undertaken at Sparkes Hill in the past 10 years. The project is part of an ongoing program of works at Seqwater sites to ensure the best water security and water quality for South East Queensland.
