Water sources supplying TasWater’s new Whitemark water treatment plant have been closely monitored due to dry weather, with water restrictions beginning in late March.

Stage 2 restrictions will be in place from Wednesday 22 March.

TasWater’s General Manager for Service Delivery, Bennie Smith, said it has been closely monitoring water sources supplying the new Whitemark water treatment plant since it began operating.

During December, TasWater received communication from the Flinders Council highlighting potential water supply issues that could occur during the summer months and subsequently, with little rain on the island, a significant shortfall in stream flows in the catchment area has occurred.

TasWater has also identified an increase in the usage of water over the past few months as well as leaks in the network that are currently being repaired.

Some of the water used at the Whitemark water treatment plant is for the treatment process itself. This is essential to meet the requirements of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (AWDG) and providing safe drinking water for the community.

Options to bolster supply to residents and visitors to Flinders Island have been identified and these may be used in conjunction with the restrictions to maintain a safe drinking water supply.

They include:

Diverting water from other sources (including dams) to the Water Treatment Plant

Optimising the plant to reuse water that would otherwise flow through to the river

Re-commissioning the bore located at Whitemark which will provide additional water that will be treated at the plant. TasWater will look to continue to utilise this solution throughout the summer