Board adopts 23/24 Operational Plan & healthy capital works budget
Published on 26 June 2023
Goldenfields Water Board Members held their general June council meeting today and adopted the 2023/24 Operational Plan, following 28 days of public exhibition.
Key items of the Operational Plan include an increase of 5% to fees and charges and a capital works program of $22.6M for the 23/24 FY.
“Over the next 12 months approximately $4.2M will be invested into new water supply infrastructure and a further $18.4M into renewing and upgrading our existing assets,” said Goldenfields Water Chairperson Matthew Stadtmiller.
“Several of our current major projects are tracking on schedule and under budget, which is fantastic to see. We have a substantial capital works program over the next four years to ensure we can continue to meet our future demands,” said Mr Stadtmiller.
Board Members were also presented with an update on the current major projects at the June meeting, such as the West Wyalong Water Reliability Project which is tracking under budget and on target for a September completion. Approximately $4.4M has been invested into the 24m high standpipe reservoir and a further $7.4M into upgrading the town’s reticulation system, which will improve the water pressure and security for 3,500 customers in West Wyalong and Wyalong. Construction of the pump station, which the final major piece of infrastructure for the project is expected to begin early next FY.
The contract for the Oura Reservoirs and Aerator Project, which forms Stage 2 of the Oura Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, was recently awarded to Quay Civil Pty Ltd. Council will be allocating approximately $12M towards stage 2 and these works are expected to kick off in the first few weeks of the 23/24 FY.
The renewals program continues to make progress, with the first 18 kilometers of the Thanowring Road Pipeline Project being laid and commissioned. Customers in Stage 1 of Thanowring Road are being connected this week. The Urban Mains Renewal Program that has been ongoing in Marrar is almost complete, which will see a substantial reduction in bursts and disruptions for residents and business owners.
As part of Councils annual maintenance program, 41 kilometres of water mains have been flushed in the Coolamon, Ganmain and Junee townships this past quarter. Mains flushing is a critical operation towards preventing discoloured water, especially in preparation for peak periods.
Water production across the five schemes varied, with the Jugiong and Oura schemes seeing a slight increase in production compared to the same period in 2021/22 FY. Mt Arthur, which services the townships of Coolamon, Ganmain and Grong Grong has seen an increase in 133ML compared to this time last FY. This can be attributed to several bursts in Coolamon throughout the year, with a significant burst in February. However, despite bursts contributing to a loss of around 45ML for the year, production still appears to be above average, indicating that either growth or non-residential usage is increasing. Mount Daylight and Hylands Bridge are currently trending slightly lower in production compared to historical years.