Previous council fails to consult DPE and now current council scramble to fix potable pipe project

Dubbo Regional Council mayor Mathew Dickerson became aware recently that the $4.95 million cross city pipeline project isn't feasible.

The pipeline was to bring recycled water from the Dubbo Sewage Treatment Plant into the city to replace non-potable groundwater used for irrigation, and in turn take the groundwater to the John Gilbert Water Treatment Plant.

"They were going to take effluent from the water from the sewerage treatment plant and across to the water treatment plant to use that water on our sporting fields, so we can save our potable water," Cr Dickerson said to the Daily Liberal.

"Turns out the pipelines finished now and when the new council and new CEO came along and said let's get the water that we're taking there, the DPE [Department of Planning and Environment] said 'you can't use that water'."

Cr Dickerson said when you are an authority building a multi million dollar pipeline you need to go through all the processes.

"You probably need to make sure you've gone and checked everything along the way, what council didn't do was get permission from the DPE to use the treated effluent on the sporting fields," he said.

The previous council didn't get permission from the DPE to put that treated effluent in the pipeline before they built it and Cr Dickerson said they shouldn't be surprised now that they can't do it.

"That disregard for the rules, that disregard for the process and doing things correctly has wasted state government money," he said.

The mayor apologised profusely to the Dubbo community about the error.

"I've said it before and unfortunately I might have to say it a few more times but I apologise to the community on behalf of council for these things that are occurring; the lack of fluoride in the water, the waste of money, the boil water alert," he said.

"It's a bit embarrassing but all we can do is fix the problem going forward."

Cr Dickerson said of all the things the previous council has left them with, not having fluoride in the water was number one but wasting public money on this project was a very close number two.

"This is state government money but it was a grant we received so it is still public money," he said.

"So the new council has been handed the pipeline, the pipeline is all done, it is all finished, the pipes are in the ground and we can't use them."

The DPE has said the effluent can't be put in the pipeline because it would mean putting treated effluent over sporting fields that sit over an aquifer and that water could potentially end up in residents drinking water.

"That water can leach down into the aquifer and that is then used in the bores to take water into the water treatment facility," Cr Dickerson said.

"Effectively you are taking treated effluent into the water treatment plant and you can't do that."

The DPE offered council an expensive solution; to treat the water out of the sewerage treatment plant to a higher standard that would be able to be used if it went into the aquifer for the bores to then go into the water treatment plant .

"If we did that we would then spend more millions of dollars getting the effluent to the correct standard and that would be the most expensive water in Dubbo," Cr Dickerson said.

"You'd have that water that comes out across the pipeline treated to a higher standard, it would almost be treated to a drinking standard to get it to that level that the DPE would give us approval."

It would cost council extra to treat the water to a higher standard after already spending the money on the infrastructure for the original project.

The mayor said council was currently looking at what they could do to fix the pipeline and not leave it sitting empty.

"Is there water we can take from some bores or rivers somewhere that we can use on other fields rather then use potable water?" he said.

"But then again we are trying to come up with solutions to fix a problem that the last council created by just not doing things in the right way.

"It seems obvious you would go and get permission before you do it."

Cr Dickerson said the current council would spend time working out something to put in the pipeline so that it wasn't a "complete waste of money".

"I don't like to see one dollar wasted let alone millions of dollars," he said.

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