River water transforms into Waikerie’s top drop

Did you know the safe, clean drinking water that runs out of your tap undergoes a three-and-half-hour transformation from raw water that flows through the River Murray, Australia's longest river?

At Waikerie's Water Treatment Plant, river water moves through a number of treatment stages, before it is supplied to residents and businesses of this rural hub in the Riverland.

Once the raw river water is treated and ready to use, it is stored in two purpose-built concrete tanks for onward supply to Waikerie.

Waikerie is one of the 22 water treatment plants using water from the River Murray and one of 43 water treatment facilities that SA Water operates around the state.

The plant produced 292 million litres of the 71,335 million litres of drinking water SA Water supplied to regional South Australia last year.

SA Water’s Senior Manager Production and Treatment Lisa Hannant said a reliable supply of safe, clean water is vital for community health and wellbeing, and is SA Water’s top priority.

“We take pride in making sure our customers have safe, clean and clear drinking water every time they turn on their tap,” Lisa said.

“Raw water from the River Murray typically contains suspended dirt, organic material and microorganisms, so it goes through a number of processes to clean and treat it.

“First we clump impurities together, which settles and separates sediment. Then we use filters to cleanse the water of any fine particles, before chloramine is added to disinfect the water and kill microorganisms.

“Since the plant first opened in 1999, we've been using chlorine to disinfect the water at Waikerie.

"In 2007, we brought in ultraviolet disinfection for extra protection against pathogens.

“Fluoride is also added, at the recommendation of SA Health, as it's a proven way to improve dental health."

SA Water’s comprehensive water testing regime ensures quality is maintained throughout the production process and water provided to customers complies with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

“Customers are at the heart of everything we do, and managing and monitoring the processes to deliver safe drinking water is a major focus of our work at Waikerie and across the state," Lisa said.

“Our expert employees collect and analyse more than 250,000 water samples each year from a variety of locations, from catchment to tap.”

Water samples are tested in the field and by scientists at SA Water’s world-leading laboratories in Adelaide.

Up-to-date water quality results are published at sawater.com.au where customers can find detailed information about what’s in their water by postcode or suburb.

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