Westernport Water
 

Water quality                                     

Keeping our water clean and safe

Westernport Water customers get their drinking water from Candowie Reservoir. This is an open catchment surrounded by intensively farmed paddocks. In order to make the drinking water safe and clean so it meets Australian drinking water standards, it must be treated. This is why the water can sometimes taste and smell different to Melbourne water.

 Click here to view our Water Quality Policy

Why does the water sometimes leave stains?

Candowie Reservoir is a shallow catchment. That means the water can sometimes contain more dissolved minerals (such as magnesium or calcium) as well as manganese and iron, than a high country reservoir. In certain conditions these can leave stains and lessen the performance of soaps and detergents (‘hard’ water).

 

What can I do at home to improve the water quality?

If you have been away from your home for a long period of time, remember to operate the internal water taps for between 30 seconds and a minute (you can catch and reuse this water on the garden). This will flush out any pipes that have been inactive.

 

What work does Westernport Water do to ensure water quality?

Before treatment the raw water is high in nutrients and organics and periodically high in manganese and iron. Following Westernport Water treatment the water must comply with 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. You can visit the National Health and Medical Research Council for information and a copy of these guidelines.

 

Maintenance and replacement

The Ian Bartlett Water Purification Plant (IBWPP) was constructed in 1990 to improve drinking water quality and is located in the Bass hills near Glen Forbes. The IBWPP at Candowie supplies water to our customers via a large water main. This main delivers water to the San Remo storage basin, which then delivers water to the mainland and to Phillip Island. Westernport Water undertakes maintenance and replacement activities as part of its ongoing program to provide clean and safe drinking water.

 

Filtration

The three main IBWPP filters comprise layers of support gravel, coarse sand and fine sand, and with filter coal at the uppermost layer. In 2008-2009 the filters underwent maintenance work. The work involved repairing any leaks that could allow sand or coal to get through and cause lesser quality water or damage to pumps and equipment. The old filter media was vacuumed out, the concrete walls were coated and painted, new filter nozzles were added and filter media was installed in meticulously level layers. This has resulted in lower water turbidity levels. Low turbidity minimises bacteria passing through the filter, reducing the amount of chlorine required to treat the water. That means better tasting water.

 

Fluoridation

Other ways Westernport Water is managing to improve water quality include:

  • enhancing the vegetation growth around the Candowie Reservoir catchment to improve filtration of the entering water
  • introducing a dedicated water quality officer and maintaining a system to monitor the water quality
  • the Secretary of Victoria's Department of Human Resources (now the responsibility of the Department of Health) instructed Westernport Water to introduce fluoride under section 5(1) of the Health (Fluoridation) Act 1973 as a way to improve the dental health of residents and visitors and this fluoridated stream came online in February 2010.

Staff at Westernport Water conducting daily water tests

Download DHS water quality report pdfs: