Talbingo Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

20251022 - Talbingo WTP
Project Overview

The Talbingo Water Treatment Plant (WTP), commissioned in 1995, is due for upgrades to ensure the continued delivery of safe and reliable drinking water. Over time, the plant has developed operational, maintenance, and WH&S challenges, prompting a phased upgrade program to modernise key components and align operations with best practice and the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG).

The upgrade project will be delivered in three phases:

  1. Filter Media Replacement: Replacement of the original sand filter media (the material that removes impurities from the water) and associated works to restore filtration performance and reliability
  2. Automation and Monitoring Upgrades: Installation of online monitoring to automate the filter backwashing process and upgrading the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to enhance automation and process control.

    Works include adding individual filter turbidity meters for continuous water clarity monitoring and integrating Critical Control Point (CCP) monitoring with automatic system shutdown in the event of a CCP breach.

    These upgrades will deliver real-time operational data, reduce manual intervention, and improve both water quality and asset longevity.

  3. Augmentation: Future development of additional treatment processes to further enhance water quality, system resilience, and operational efficiency.

Project Status

Phase 1 works at the Talbingo WTP are now complete. The plant’s two filters were upgraded one at a time to ensure the town’s water supply was maintained throughout the works. Both filters are now back online and operating effectively.  

Phase 2 works are planned to start in December 2025 and are expected to finish in the 2026–27 financial year.

Project Budget

The total project budget is $2,640,000.00.

Phase 1 works are fully funded through Council’s Water Reserve.

Council secured a $100,000 Advanced Operational Support (AOS) grant from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), which will contribute to the delivery of Phase 2.

The remaining costs for Phase 2 and all Phase 3 works will be funded from Council’s Water Reserve.

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