HUNTER Water could delay upgrades to sewage treatment plants, banking millions, if a first of its kind in the state waterways trial proves successful.
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The utility wants to turn the tables on “traditional thinking” by improving the health of creeks and rivers, instead of embarking on costly upgrade programs to increase effluent quality from wastewater treatment plants.
One such example where it is already occurring is in Paxton, near Cessnock, where a trial program to improve the health of a nearby creek has seen Hunter Water delay upgrades to the Paxton Wastewater Treatment Works, which the utility says already has the highest quality wastewater in the region.
A partnership between the utility, Local Land Services and various landholders is estimated to have saved at least $1 million.
The trial seeks to reduce pollution in the deteriorated Congewai Creek through measures such as increasing vegetation and installing fences to keep stock at bay.
And it is a strategy that could be rolled out across the wider Hunter as the utility confronts the challenge of a bigger population.
Hunter Water executive manager strategy and planning Darren Cleary said the approach was beneficial for the environment and the bottom line.
“The traditional way of thinking would have seen us further upgrade our treatment plant at a cost of millions of dollars,” he said.
“However, there are a number of issues, such as a lack of riparian vegetation and stock entering the creek, which are also significant contributors to poor water quality.
“This project demonstrates the value of challenging established ways of thinking, and we’ll be looking for new solutions to old challenges across the board.”
The Paxton trial is still under way and will continue next year. The approach is symbolic of the utility’s new narrative of “disrupting” water delivery in the Hunter.
Hunter Water managing director Jim Bentley, who was appointed last year, has previously said that wastewater should be seen as a “resource”, with potential for some of it to be recycled.
The utility recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Newcastle to share water management expertise.