News>Scouring the Mains in Cowra

Water Engineering Australia | November 2008

Scouring the Mains in Cowra

A mains scouring program has been completed in parts of Cowra in a bid to resolve complaints of discoloured water supplies.

Cowra is located in central NSW, 310km due west of Sydney. Director of Cowra Shire Council operations Wayne Bennett explained that council is targeting areas that experience repeated instances of discoloured water.

The program was initiated after a rise in complaints in the quality of water being delivered to households. Bennett told www.abc.net.au: “We were getting probably anywhere between 15 to 30 complaints a week.” Complaints had stopped as works continued.

The contract to clean 50km of pipes over a four week period was awarded to Clearflow Australia. Managing director David Elderfield said: “The problems here are not as bad as we had anticipated and are certainly no worse than those experienced by the majority of towns we have worked in.”

The scouring process involves isolating sections of water main and injecting high pressure air into the system before flushing the air/water mixture out of a selected hydrant.

The improvements from the first phase have resulted in the program being extended through the town. “The program has been successful in Taragala and West Cowra which is why we decided to expand it,” Bennett said.