DRINKING WATER QUALITY 2019-2020

DRINKING WATER QUALITYANNUAL REPORT

2019-2020

Cairns Regional Council – Drinking Water Quality Annual Report 2019-202022

CONTENTSAbout this Report ................................................................................ 3

About Us ................................................................................................ 3

Sourcing and Delivering Water ....................................................... 5

Managing Safe Drinking Water ........................................................7

DWQMP Implementation ...................................................................7

Source Water ........................................................................................ 9

Source Water Monitoring Program Results Summary Statistics... 10

Treated Water ......................................................................................18

Performance against the Verification Monitoring Program ......... 20

Microbiological Pathogens........................................................... 26

Health-related Chemical Assessment ...................................... 30

Aesthetic Assessment ................................................................... 30

Overall Assesment .......................................................................... 30

Summary Verification Monitoring Program - Charts ............... 31

Verification Monitoring Program Results Summary Statistics ..... 37

Notifying the Regulator .................................................................. 44

Customer Satisfaction ..................................................................... 46

Continuous Improvement .............................................................. 46

DWQMP Review................................................................................ 47

Improvement Activities ................................................................... 48

Glossary .............................................................................................. 49

Photo courtesy of Tourism Tropical North Queensland

Cairns Regional Council – Drinking Water Quality Annual Report 2019-2020 3

Cairns Regional Council’s 2019/2020 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report describes Council’s operational performance about drinking water quality and reports on activities detailed in Council’s Drinking Water Quality Management Plan (DWQMP), including results of tests taken to check drinking water quality.

This report allows Council to meet its regulatory obligations under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 by informing the regulator about how Council has complied with its DWQMP, approval conditions and requirements of the Public Health Act 2005.

This report aims to communicate comprehensive information to satisfy the needs of individuals and groups who have an interest in Cairns Regional Council’s drinking water, including:

• Our customers

• Current, past and future employees

• Government

• The water industry

• Businesses and industry

• Researchers

ABOUT THIS REPORT

ABOUT US

A glossary of terms explaining the meaning of words and acronyms can be found in section Glossary of Terms.

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Cairns Regional Council is responsible for delivering drinking water, sewerage, recycled water and waste services to a population of over 170 000. Our 1687 square kilometre geographic area is framed by the lush World Heritage listed Wet Tropics rainforest to the west and north and the Coral Sea and World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to the east.

Cairns Regional Council maintains a Drinking Water Quality Management System (DWQMS) that is consistent with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2011, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia). The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines are hereon referred to as the ADWG for the remainder of this report.

The DWQMS utilises a risk-based “catchment to tap” approach to identify and manage potential risks associated with drinking water quality. Council does this in partnership with stakeholders and relevant agencies, by:

• Considering the needs and expectations of our customers, stakeholders, regulators and employees and integrate appropriate solutions into our planning to provide and maintain safe water supplies.

• Undertaking regular monitoring of drinking water quality and maintaining effective reporting mechanisms to provide relevant and timely information and promote confidence in the management of the water supply systems.

• Having in place appropriate contingency plans and incident response capabilities to respond to and manage water quality incidents.

• Auditing and reviewing our practices against industry standards and stakeholder expectations to continually improve our performance.

• Maintaining competencies of council employees to improve knowledge about water quality, treatment standards and compliance procedures.

• Openly communicating our performance to the community to encourage public awareness.

This annual report describes our performance about the supply of drinking water for the 2019/2020 financial year.



35,244

2.9



Cairns Regional Council provides drinking water services to nine water supply ‘schemes’. Schemes start at the intake point on waterways, pass through treatment plants, bulk storage reservoirs, water distribution networks and end at the customer water meter. Council’s largest water supply scheme is the Copperlode/Behana scheme, which services the city of Cairns. A map of the Council drinking water scheme areas is shown in Figure 1 below. Refer to Table 1 below for more information regarding each scheme.

SOURCING AND DELIVERING WATER

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Figure 1: Scheme Boundaries


Scheme Name

Water Source

Communities Served

Catchment Character-

isticsTreatment

BarriersConnected Properties 1 Population 1

10 year Population Projection2

Copperlode/Behana

Copperlode Dam via

Freshwater Creek

Goldsborough, Gordonvale, Bessie Point,

the suburbs of greater Cairns from Edmonton in the South to

Buchans Point in the North

State Forest World

Heritage Gated

Recreational Access by

Permit Holder

Belt screenCoagulationFlocculation

Direct filtrationpH correctionChlorination

73,372 167,200 185,829

Copperlode/Behana

Behana Creek

National Park World Heritage

Coandă screenDrum micro strainer

UVChlorination

Babinda Frenchmans Creek Babinda


0.5mm Coandă Microscreen

50 micron filter1 micron filter

UVChlorination

743 1,322 1,322

Bartle Frere Majuba Creek

Bartle Frere and Woopen Creek




UVChlorination

156 303 303

Fishery Falls Fishery Creek Fishery Falls




UVChlorination

189 344 344

Bramston Beach

Joyce & Worth Creek Bramston Beach World

Heritage



SwiftChlorination

157 297 297

Mirriwinni Pughs Creek MirriwinniNational

Park World Heritage

0.5mm Coandă Microscreen 1 micron filter

UV Chlorination

194 363 363

Bellenden Ker

Junction Creek Bellenden Ker




UVChlorination

119 226 226

Orchid Valley

Little Mulgrave

RiverOrchid Valley

Rural and Rural

Residential


UVChlorination

22 63 63

Mountain View

Little Mulgrave

RiverMountain View

Rural and Rural

Residential


UVChlorination

34 100 100

Russell Heads3

Bessie Point Decommissioned now serviced by Copperlode/Behana supply.

1 Data sourced from 19/20 SWIM reporting. Indicators used: CS4 Total connected properties: water, CS1 Population receiving water services

2 Projection based on 19/20 SWIM CS1 population figures (population as at 30 June 2020). Population growth projections are in accordance with the Queensland Government

Statistician’s Office (QGSO) 2018 edition projections using low series projections. 3 Russell Heads is a non-potable supply.

Table 1: Summary of Cairns Regional Council Drinking Water Supply Schemes.


MANAGING SAFE DRINKING WATERDRINKING WATER LEGISLATION

The supply of safe and reliable drinking water in Queensland is regulated by state legislation, including the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 and the Public Health Act 2005. Under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008, the Department of Natural Resources Mines and Energy (DNRME) regulate Council to ensure that drinking water services are conducted in accordance with an approved DWQMP. Under the Public Health Act 2005, Queensland Health regulates drinking water quality to protect public health. This legislation establishes an E. coli standard for this purpose.

The ADWG set health guideline values which have been incorporated under the Public Health Regulation 2018 as water quality criteria for drinking water in Queensland.

FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING DRINKING WATER Cairns Regional Council manages drinking water quality with a DWQMS, based on the ADWG Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality.

The primary aim is to provide safe water to Cairns Regional Council drinking water customers.

The DWQMS provides a framework to bring together, and supplement where necessary, the operational procedures and work practices of Council into a structured management system.

The System is designed to formalise and link together procedures and practices, and assist in setting priorities, allocation of resources and performance of daily work activities.

A key attribute of the DWQMS is continual improvement, which includes improving the system itself. Any issues that arise with the system are viewed as opportunities for improvement.

DWQMS CORE ELEMENTS

Our DWQMS is based on the following core elements that make up the overall systems management approach:

• Organisation Commitment• Planning and Risk Assessment • Hazard Analysis and Critical Controls• Preventative Measures• Monitoring and Verification• Information Management• Incident Management• Continuous Improvement

The implementation of the DWQMP is the responsibility of key staff from Council’s Water and Waste branch, these officers have operational and technical subject matter expertise.

Officers responsible for the implementation of the DWQMP meet quarterly to review the verification monitoring program, drinking water incidents, customer complaints and risk management improvement items.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE DWQMP AND DRINKING WATER QUALITY POLICY

Council maintains a current version of the DWQMP on its corporate document management system and is available to all relevant staff.

A Drinking Water Quality General Policy, endorsed by the Chief Executive Officer, “to establish and maintain a Drinking Water Quality Management System consistent with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines”, is maintained. The policy assigns responsibility for the management of drinking water quality to all Water and Waste staff whilst acknowledging that corporate responsibility lies with the management team and ultimately with the Chief Executive Officer.

The policy is available to the public via the following link: https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/9200/Drinking-Water-Quality-General-Policy.pdf

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DWQMP IMPLEMENTATION


Table 2: DWQMP coordination team.Position of Internal

Stakeholder Reason for Inclusion

Manager OperationsOverall responsibility for operation system. System governance. System sign-off.

Water Services Coordinator

Rural systems and reticulation network operational management and process controller.

Treatment CoordinatorTreatment system operational management and process controller

Assets Coordinator Asset management

Principal Engineer Design & Delivery

Delivery of capital works program.

Principal Engineer Strategy & Planning

Strategic planning of water infrastructure

Team Leader Compliance and Quality Systems

System support. Regulatory liaison, maintenance of systems, internal auditing.

Quality Systems Officer System and regulatory support, advice and investigations.

Note: The Coordination Team member list is currently under review and subject to change.

TRAINING OF STAFF

Council recognise staff awareness and training is a critical element of the system. The DWQMP commits to training of staff through internal training and information sessions. This commitment is demonstrated by delivering training of internal Water and Waste staff about their obligations under the plan, the training is tailored for the roles of the staff receiving training. In 2019/2020, 98 staff across the Water & Waste Department participated in Drinking Water Quality Management System Awareness training.

DWQ COORDINATION TEAM

A team of officers listed in Table 2 are responsible for coordinating the system, this team reports to the quarterly management team meetings, their activities include:

• System review, including risk register review

• Quality and critical control points

• Exceedances

• Complaints received

• Standard operating procedures

• Business continuity plans

• Operational descriptions

• Drawings (as constructed and piping and____ ...................instrumentation diagrams)

• SCADA schematics

• System implementation, optimisation and maintenance

The Councillors receive a quarterly report rating Council’s performance against its Customer Service Standard notably mains breaks, unplanned interruptions, response times and water quality complaints as well as reportable drinking water non-compliances.

ATTENDANCE AT DEPARTMENT TRAINING AND INDUSTRY CONFERENCES

Council staff participate in industry training events and conferences to maintain professional development and to network with contemporaries from across the water sector. Events attended in the 2019/2020 reporting period include:

•Oz Water Online 2020;

•DNRME Drinking Water Regulation Overview Refresher/ New Starters in February 2020;

•DNRME Guideline Development Advisory Group meetings; and

•FNQROC Water Sub-group Meetings


SOURCE WATERThe first step in an effective DWQMS is to understand hazards in the natural water sources where drinking water is sourced. Council achieves this through an extensive Source Water Monitoring Program. The Program allows for the quantitative and qualitative assessment of risks in the catchments to determine treatment requirements.

Table 3 shows a summary of Council’s Source Water Monitoring Program. This is not an exhaustive list, the complete list of summarised results by scheme can be found in section Source Water Monitoring Program Results Summary Statistics below.

Scheme Parameter Monitored Frequency of Monitoring

Babinda, Bartle Frere, Bellenden Ker, Bramston Beach, Fishery Falls, Mirriwinni, Mountain View, Orchid Valley

E. coliCryptosporidiumGiardiaTemperatureTurbidity

Monthly

IronManganeseSiliconCalciumMagnesiumPotassiumSodiumTotal hardnessTotal dissolved salts (calc)ColourElectrical conductancepHTotal alkalinitySulphateChlorideFluoride

Quarterly

Copperlode/Behana

Behana Creek IntakeCryptosporidiumGiardiaTurbidity

Weekly

Freshwater Creek Intake

ColourE. coli and total coliformsElectrical conductanceHeterotrophic plate countIronManganesepHTurbidity

Weekly

Dissolved oxygenTemperatureSulphide

Monthly

AlkalinityAmmoniaBlue Green AlgaeChlorophyll aOrtho PhosphateTotal Oxidised NitrogenTotal nitrogenTotal phosphorousThermotolerant coliforms

Quarterly

ArsenicCalciumChlorideMagnesiumOrganochlorine pesticidesOrganophosphate pesticidesPotassiumSiliconSodiumSulphateTinTotal dissolved salts (calc)Total hardness

Six monthly

Table 3: General summary of Source Water Monitoring Program


SOURCE WATER MONITORING PROGRAM RESULTS SUMMARY STATISTICSThis section provides a complete summary of source water monitoring results.

Note: ‘Not detected’ and ‘less than’ results have been replaced with zero prior to calculation of averages. This is because whole numbers are required for calculating averages.

BABINDA

Result Name Number of Tests Average Minimum Maximum Median Units

Apparent Colour 4 5.58 4.1 8.5 4.85 Pt/Co units

Calcium 4 0.80 0.72 0.88 0.795 mg/L

Chloride 4 5.30 5.2 5.5 5.25 mg/L

Confirmed Cryptosporidium 11 Not detected (oo)cyst/10L

Confirmed Giardia 11 0.02 0.2 0.2 0 (oo)cyst/10L

E coli 12 106.92 12 300 50.5 CFU/100mL

Electrical Conductance 4 33.75 31 38 33 µS/cm

Fluoride 4 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 mg/L

Iron 4 0.04 0.017 0.056 0.035 mg/L

Manganese 4 0.00 <0.002 0.004 0 mg/L

Silicon 4 16.25 14 19 16 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 4 0.39 0.38 0.41 0.385 mg/L

pH 4 7.23 7.2 7.3 7.2

Potassium 4 1.03 1 1.1 1 mg/L

Presumptive Cryptosporidium 11 0.09 1 1 0 (oo)cyst/10L

Presumptive Giardia 11 Not detected (oo)cyst/10L

Sodium 4 4.70 4.3 5.3 4.6 mg/L

Sulphate 4 1.13 1 1.3 1.1 mg/L

Temperature 11 21.73 19 25 23 °C

Total Alkalinity 4 7.58 6.8 8.7 7.4 mg CaCO3 / L

Total Dissolved Salts (calc) 4 33.75 31 38 33 mg/L

Total Hardness 4 3.60 3.4 3.9 3.55 mg CaCO3 / L

True Colour 4 3.88 3.1 5.1 3.65 Pt/Co units

Turbidity 12 0.35 0.1 0.7 0.3 NTU

Table 4: Babinda Source Water Summary Statistics


BARTLE FRERE


Apparent Colour 5 6.24 2.2 16 4.1 Pt/Co units

Calcium 5 0.77 0.51 1 0.76 mg/L

Chloride 5 4.04 2.6 4.7 4.2 mg/L


Confirmed Giardia 12 0.25 3 3 0 (oo)cyst/10L

E coli 13 383.92 26 2600 170 CFU/100mL


Fluoride 5 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.02 mg/L

Iron 5 0.02 0.011 0.028 0.019 mg/L

Manganese 5 0.00 <0.002 <0.002 0 mg/L

Silicon 5 14.04 7.2 20 13 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 5 0.30 0.23 0.34 0.32 mg/L

pH 5 7.16 7 7.3 7.1

Potassium 5 0.82 0.64 0.95 0.85 mg/L


Presumptive Giardia 12 0.58 1 4 0 (oo)cyst/10L

Sodium 5 3.94 2.4 5 4 mg/L

Sulphate 5 0.42 1 1.1 0 mg/L

Temperature 13 21.00 18 26 20 °C




True Colour 5 4.18 1.7 11 2 Pt/Co units

Turbidity 13 0.50 0.1 2 0.3 NTU

Table 5: Bartle Frere Source Water Summary Statistics

Photo 8290710 © Dmitry-Fisher | Dreamstime.com


BELLENDEN KER



Calcium 4 0.58 0.52 0.69 0.545 mg/L

Chloride 4 5.20 4.7 5.6 5.25 mg/L

Confirmed Cryptosporidium 12 0.17 1 1 0 (oo)cyst/10L


E coli 14 217.93 <1 >1000 100 CFU/100mL


Fluoride 4 0.01 <0.02 <0.02 0.01 mg/L

Iron 4 0.02 0.012 0.025 0.0175 mg/L

Manganese 4 0.00 0.002 0.002 0.001 mg/L

Silicon 4 11.65 7.6 15 12 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 4 0.36 0.33 0.39 0.355 mg/L

pH 4 7.05 7 7.1 7.05

Potassium 4 0.88 0.73 1.3 0.75 mg/L

Presumptive Cryptosporidium 12 Not detected (oo)cyst/10L


Sodium 4 4.08 3.3 5.1 3.95 mg/L

Sulphate 4 0.88 <1 1.2 1.15 mg/L

Temperature 12 21.08 16 26 21.5 °C

Total Alkalinity 4 5.13 4.3 7 4.6 mg CaCO3 / L

Total Dissolved Salts (calc) 4 26.75 21 33 26.5 mg/L



Turbidity 14 1.68 0.1 9.9 0.35 NTU

Table 6: Bellenden Ker Source Water Summary Statistics


BRAMSTON



Calcium 4 1.65 1.4 1.9 1.65 mg/L

Chloride 4 7.83 7 8.5 7.9 mg/L



E coli 12 51.83 18 210 36.5 CFU/100mL

Electrical Conductance 4 45.50 42 49 45.5 µS/cm

Fluoride 4 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 mg/L

Iron 4 0.02 0.011 0.04 0.0235 mg/L

Manganese 4 0.00 <0.002 0.005 0 mg/L

Silicon 4 9.08 7.8 9.9 9.3 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 4 1.45 1.3 1.6 1.45 mg/L

pH 4 7.23 7.2 7.3 7.2 .

Potassium 4 0.34 0.26 0.45 0.32 mg/L



Sodium 4 4.68 4 4.9 4.9 mg/L

Sulphate 4 1.33 1.3 1.4 1.3 mg/L

Temperature 12 25.00 22 29 24.5 °C



Total Hardness 4 10.03 9.6 11 9.75 mg CaCO3 / L


Turbidity 12 0.43 0.1 1.8 0.2 NTU

Table 7: Bramston Beach Source Water Summary Statistics


COPPERLODE/BEHANA


Ammonia 138 0.09 <0.02 1.9 0.03 mg/L N

Aphanocapsa (Cyan) 1 6400.00 6400 6400 6400 Cells/mL

Apparent Colour 190 21.40 8.1 >150 14 Pt/Co units

Calcium 2 1.30 1.3 1.3 1.3 mg/L

Chloride 2 7.10 6.8 7.4 7.1 mg/L

Chlorophyta 46 6290.22 190 41300 4950 Cells/mL

Chroococcus(Cyanophyta) 1 560.00 560 560 560 Cells/mL

Chrysophyta 2 57.50 55 60 57.5 Cells/mL

Conductivity (in Situ) 199 50.04 40 170 45 µS/cm

Cyanodictyon (Cyanophyta) 2 1600.00 800 2400 1600 Cells/mL

Cyanogranis (Cyanophyta) 38 5858.42 100 24800 4400 Cells/mL

Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) 45 1223.11 100 4600 1000 Cells/mL

DO in situ (mg/L) 350 5.05 0.1 9 5.7 mg/L

E coli 81 12.52 <1 340 0 CFU/100mL


Euglenophyta (Euglenoids) 2 50.00 15 85 50 Cells/mL

Heterotrophic Plate Count 81 372.22 10 6100 250 CFU/mL

Arsenic 2 0.00 0.001 0.0013 0.00115 mg/L

Iron 30 0.32 0.157 1.04 0.2625 mg/L

Manganese 30 0.05 0.0276 0.287 0.0446 mg/L

Tin 2 0.00 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 mg/L

Iron 242 0.96 0.065 54 0.2415 mg/L

Manganese 242 0.11 0.011 2.1 0.031 mg/L

Silicon 2 8.35 7.5 9.2 8.35 mg/ L SiO2

Intestinal Enterococci 30 9.37 <1 96 0 CFU/100mL

Magnesium 2 1.05 1 1.1 1.05 mg/L

No Cyanophyta Detected 6 0.00 Not detected Cells/mL

Organochlorine pesticides 50 0.00 Not detected µg/L

Organophosphorus pesticides 100 0.00 Not detected µg/L

Ortho Phosphate (OP) 138 0.00 <0.01 <0.01 0 mg/L P

pH 113 7.21 6.7 7.4 7.3

pH (in situ) 199 6.38 5.3 7.7 6.4 pH units

Planktolyngbya sp 6 1433.33 600 3200 800 Cells/mL

Table 8: Copperlode/Behana Source Water Summary Statistics


COPPERLODE/BEHANA


Potassium 2 0.69 0.66 0.71 0.685 mg/L

Reported Chlorophyll a 30 6.08 <1 31 4.55 µg/L

Snowella (Cyanophyta) 1 160.00 160 160 160 Cells/mL

Sodium 2 4.75 4.5 5 4.75 mg/L

Sulphate 2 0.65 <1 1.3 0.65 mg/L

Temperature 341 23.71 18 30 23 °C

Thermotolerant coli-forms 30 31.10 <1 210 5 CFU/100mL

Total Nitrogen 1 7.50 7.5 7.5 7.5 mg/L N

Total Nitrogen (Low Level) 132 0.21 <0.05 1.5 0.17 mg/L N

Total Oxidised Nitrogen (TON) 138 0.01 <0.01 0.06 0.01 mg/L N

Total Alkalinity 64 10.05 7 23 9.5 mg CaCO3 / L

Total coliforms 81 4123.09 140 38000 2600 CFU/100mL

Total Cyanophyta 39 6194.36 100 24800 4800 Cells/mL



Total Nitrogen 21 0.17 0.11 0.25 0.15 mg/L

Total Phosphorus 21 0.01 0.005 0.015 0.008 mg/L

Total Potentially Toxic Cyanophyta 39 0.00 Not detected Cells/mL

Total Sulphide 9 0.00 <0.05 <0.05 <0.05 mg/L

Total Phosphorus 1 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 mg/L P

Total Phosphorus (Low Level) 132 0.00 <0.02 0.12 0 mg/L P

True Colour 5 107.00 45 150 120 Pt/Co units

Turbidity 191 2.71 0.9 55 1.6 NTU


FISHERY FALLS



Calcium 4 1.23 1.1 1.5 1.15 mg/L

Chloride 4 6.58 6.4 6.7 6.6 mg/L



E coli 14 131.21 11 >1000 20.5 CFU/100mL


Fluoride 4 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.03 mg/L

Iron 4 0.03 0.022 0.042 0.025 mg/L

Manganese 4 0.00 <0.002 0.008 0 mg/L

Silicon 4 17.50 14 21 17.5 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 4 1.01 0.81 1.3 0.96 mg/L

pH 4 7.35 7.3 7.4 7.35

Potassium 4 0.83 0.7 0.97 0.83 mg/L

Presumptive Cryptosporidium 12 Not detected (oo)cyst/10L


Sodium 4 5.68 5.1 6.4 5.6 mg/L

Sulphate 4 1.53 1.3 1.9 1.45 mg/L

Temperature 13 21.15 16 24 22 °C





Turbidity 14 0.56 0.1 1.6 0.35 NTU

Table 9: Fishery Falls Source Water Summary Statistics


MIRIWINNI



Calcium 4 0.47 0.39 0.56 0.47 mg/L

Chloride 4 4.13 2.5 4.8 4.6 mg/L

Confirmed Cryptosporidium 12 0.17 1 1 0 (oo)cyst/10L


E coli 13 300.54 35 2000 64 CFU/100mL


Fluoride 4 0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.02 mg/L

Iron 4 0.01 0.01 0.031 0.0115 mg/L

Manganese 4 0.00 <0.002 0.003 0.0015 mg/L

Silicon 4 12.98 5.9 18 14 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 4 0.29 0.25 0.32 0.29 mg/L

pH 4 7.05 6.8 7.2 7.1

Potassium 4 0.83 0.67 0.92 0.86 mg/L



Sodium 4 3.80 2.4 4.7 4.05 mg/L

Sulphate 4 1.00 <1 1.7 1.15 mg/L

Temperature 13 20.31 18 24 21 °C



Total Hardness 4 2.35 2 2.7 2.35 mg CaCO3 / L


Turbidity 13 0.73 0.1 4.1 0.2 NTU

Table 10: Mirriwinni Source Water Summary Statistics


MOUNTAIN VIEW/ORCHID VALLEY



Calcium 10 3.30 2.6 4.4 3.35 mg/L

Chloride 10 6.49 5.6 7.1 6.65 mg/L



E coli 26 246.69 20 1700 120 CFU/100mL


Fluoride 10 0.03 0.02 0.05 0.03 mg/L

Iron 10 0.07 0.043 0.145 0.066 mg/L

Manganese 10 0.01 0.003 0.014 0.0065 mg/L

Silicon 10 18.80 17 21 18.5 mg/ L SiO2

Magnesium 10 0.99 0.75 1.3 0.95 mg/L

pH 10 7.44 7.4 7.5 7.4

Potassium 10 1.11 0.98 1.3 1 mg/L

PresumptiveCryptosporidium 24 Not detected (oo)cyst/10L


Sodium 10 6.20 5.4 7.1 6.1 mg/L

Sulphate 10 1.36 1.3 1.5 1.3 mg/L

Temperature 25 22.48 16 27 23 °C

Total Alkalinity 10 17.70 14 25 16.5 mg CaCO3 / L


Total Hardness 10 12.26 9.6 16 12.5 mg CaCO3 / L


Turbidity 26 0.81 0.3 2.2 0.6 NTU

TREATED WATERTo check that treatment of source water from the environment is effective and that reservoirs, distribution mains and reticulation pipes keep water safe for consumption, Council monitors the quality of treated water with a comprehensive Verification Monitoring Program (VMP). This testing is the final check to ensure barriers and preventive measures used to protect public health are performing effectively.

Verification monitoring is conducted by the NATA accredited Cairns Regional Council Water and Waste Laboratory at dedicated sampling points located at intakes, treatment sites, major reservoirs and within the reticulation network.

Table 12 below provides a schedule of Council’s VMP. This is not an exhaustive list; complete details of all results are provided in summary charts and tables for verification monitoring in the sections below including: Performance against the Verification Monitoring Program; Microbiological pathogens; Overall assessment; and Summary Verification Monitoring Program.

Table 11: Mountain View/Orchid Valley Source Water Summary Statistics


System Component Parameter Monitored Frequency of Monitoring

Reticulation network

Alkalinity*Chlorine (free & total)ColourE. coli and total coliformsElectrical Conductivity*Heterotrophic plate countpHTemperatureTurbidity

Weekly

AluminiumCopperIronLeadManganese

Monthly

AmmoniaNitrateNitriteChlorideSodiumTotal dissolved salts (calc)SulphateZincTotal Trihalomethanes

Six monthly *

Reservoirs

AlkalinityChlorine (free & total)E. coli and total coliformsHeterotrophic plate countpHTemperatureColour*Turbidity*Aluminium*Copper*Iron*Manganese*

Weekly

ChloriteNaegleriaTotal Trihalomethanes

Monthly*

Table 12: General summary of Verification Monitoring Program.

*at selected site/s


PERFORMANCE AGAINST THE VERIFICATION MONITORING PROGRAM Table 13 below shows a summary of the water quality tests conducted under Council’s VMP, indicating the number required as per Council’s DWQMP, the actual number of tests conducted and whether there were any non-compliances with the ADWG aesthetic or health guideline values. Comments have been provided in the table where non-compliances occurred.

Although every effort is made to strictly adhere to the VMP, circumstances occasionally prevent samples being collected, in these instances a “no-sample” is reported by the Laboratory. The VMP has been designed to give a degree of flexibility and allow for a number of no-samples in each scheme per year. Council has Business Continuity Plans in place to ensure that it can maintain essential services during periods of interruption. At certain times a reduced VMP may need to be implemented, it is important however to maintain sufficient testing to firstly protect public health and secondly to meet regulatory requirements.

Any reduced monitoring is approved through management team and if significant change or there is a possibility the minimum requirement under the Public Health regulation may not be met Council would liaise with Queensland Health to agree upon an acceptable modified short-term sampling program.

In cases where more samples have been collected than required, this can be due to discrepancies in the timing when samples are collected versus the financial year reporting format. In some cases, duplicate samples are collected by the laboratory for quality control and statistical analysis purposes. For parameters where there is no ‘Number required as per Verification Monitoring Program’ specified, these are generally supplementary tests conducted as a result of another test. For example, dissolved metals are usually only tested when total metals results require further investigation.

Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired

as per Verification Monitoring

Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Babinda

Apparent Colour 104 104 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0

E coli 104 106 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0

Free Chlorine 104 105 ≤ 5.0 mg/L 0

Heterotrophic Plate Count 104 104

ICPMS Aluminium 26 27 ≤ 0.2 mg/L 0

ICPMS Copper 26 27 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0

ICPMS Iron 26 27 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0

ICPMS Lead 26 27 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0

ICPMS Manganese 26 27 ≤ 0.1 mg/L 0

pH104 104 6.5 - 8.5 1

One result of 8.57 exceeding the aesthetic

maximum limit of 8.5 on 9 July 2019

Temperature 104 105

Total Chlorine 104 105

Total coliforms 104 106

Turbidity 104 104

Table 13: Performance against Verification Monitoring Program


Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Bartle Frere


E coli 104 109 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0








pH 104 106 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 104 107



Turbidity 104 106 ≤ 5 NTU 0

Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Bellenden Ker


E coli 52 54 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0








pH 52 52 6.5 - 8.5 17

Aesthetic exceedances are associated with an inter-

action between the water and cement lined pipes in the reticulation network.

Alkaline water above a pH of 8 can impair the efficien-cy of chlorine disinfection.

Council closely monitor disinfection performance through testing microbial indicators to ensure the effectiveness of chlorine is not compromised by

elevated pH.

4645058 © Jennbang | Dreamstime.com


Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Bellenden Ker

Temperature 52 54



True Colour 2 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0

Turbidity52 52 ≤ 5 NTU 1

Aesthetic exceedance of 9.1 NTU on 12 December

2019.

Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Bramston Beach

Amoeba - Thermophilic Amoeba 13 14

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria fowleri 3

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria spp 3


E coli 52 54 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0








pH 52 53 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 52 54





Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Copperlode-Behana

Ammonia 4 2

Amoeba - Thermophilic Amoeba 78 83

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria fowleri 3

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria spp 3


Bromodichloromethane 156

Bromoform 156

Chloride 2 2 ≤ 250.0 mg/L 0

Chlorite 143 153 ≤ 0.8 mg/L 0

Chloroform 156

Dibromochloromethane 156

E coli 2093 2221 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0

Electrical Conductance 52 51

Free Chlorine 2093 2190 < 5.0 mg/L 0



Aesthetic exceedances in December 2019 and February 2020 were

associated with dirty water events which often result

from higher demand caus-ing increased velocity and

hence turbidity in water mains. Key augmentation projects were commis-

sioned between October-December 2019 which increased turbidity in the network for a short

period.

ICPMS Aluminium - dissolved 1 ≤ 0.2 mg/L 0


ICPMS Copper - dis-solved 1 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0

ICPMS Iron 585 581 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 1

Aesthetic exceedance in December 2019 associated with dirty water event which

often result from higher demand causing increased velocity and hence turbidity

in water mains. Key augmentation projects were commissioned between October-

December 2019 which increased turbidity in the

network for a short period.

ICPMS Iron - dissolved 1 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0

ICPMS Lead 537 581 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0


Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Copperlode-Behana

ICPMS Lead - dissolved 1 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0


Aesthetic exceedance in February 2020 associated

with dirty water event which often result from higher demand causing increased velocity and hence turbidity in water

mains. Key augmentation projects were

commissioned between October-December 2019 which increased turbidity in the network for a short

period.

ICPMS Manganese - dissolved 1 ≤ 0.1 mg/L 0

ICPMS Zinc 4 2 ≤ 3.0 mg/L 0

ICPOES Silicon 2

Nitrate 4 2

Nitrite 2

pH 2093 2152 6.5 - 8.5 51

Aesthetic exceedances associated with an

interaction between the water and cement lined pipes in the reticulation network. Alkaline water

above a pH of 8 can impair the efficiency of chlorine disinfection.

Council closely monitor disinfection performance through testing microbial indicators to ensure the effectiveness of chlorine is not compromised by

elevated pH.

Reason for No Sample 49

Sodium 4 2 ≤ 180.0 mg/L 0

Sulphate 4 2 ≤ 250.0 mg/L 0

Temperature 2093 2181

Total Oxidised Nitrogen (TON) 2

Total Alkalinity 728 656

Currunda Reservoir added to network within

2019/2020 reporting period, overestimating the number of tests required.

Total Chlorine 2093 2190 ≤ 5.0 mg/L 0


Total Dissolved Solids 4 2 ≤ 600 mg/L 0

Total Trihalomethanes 147 156 ≤ 250.0 µg/L 0

True Colour 3 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0


Aesthetic exceedances are associated with drinking water event "Dirty Water

Northern Beaches" please refer to section Notifying

the Regulator


Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Fishery Falls


E coli 52 54 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 1

Incident reported to the Regulator please refer to section Notifying the

Regulator








pH 52 52 6.5 - 8.5 6Aesthetic exceedances oc-curring in July-August 2019

and May 2020 ranging from 8.5-8.9 pH.

Temperature 52 54




Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Miriwinni


E coli 52 54 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0








pH 52 52 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 52 54





Scheme Parameter

Numberrequired


Program

Actual Number

Collected

ADWG Guideline

Value

Number Non-

compliantComments

Mountain View-Orchid

Valley

Apparent Colour 104 104 ≤15.0 Pt/Co units 0

E coli 104 108 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0








pH 104 104 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 104 107



Turbidity104 104 ≤ 5 NTU 1

One result of 5.51 NTU exceeding the aesthetic

maximum limit of 5 NTU in April 2020.

MICROBIOLOGICAL PATHOGENS RESULTS

Table 14: E. coli Performance Assessment

Data sourced from CRC Laboratory database.

Zone No. of samples collected in previous 12 months

% of Samples that meet health guideline values

Copperlode/Behana 2365 100%

Bartle Frere 122 100%

Babinda 106 100%

Bellenden Ker 54 100%

Bessie Point 51 100%

Bramston Beach 54 100%

Fishery Falls 68 98.5%

Mirriwinni 66 100%

Mountain View/Orchid Valley 132 100%

The standard for drinking water in Queensland requires no detection of E. coli in 98% of samples collected over a 12-month period as detailed in the Queensland Public Health Regulation 2018 s52. E. coli compliance details for each drinking water supply scheme are provided below, including the month-by-month performance.


Table 16: Bartle Frere E. coli Monitoring Results.

Table 17: Babinda E. coli Monitoring Results

Table 15: Copperlode/Behana E. coli Monitoring Results

Drinking water scheme: Bartle Frere

Year 2019 - 2020

Month July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

No. of samples collected 11 10 9 12 9 11 9 9 11 9 9 13

No. of samples collected in which E. coli is detected (i.e. a failure)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

No. of samples collected in previous 12 month period 117 118 118 121 121 123 121 121 123 121 118 122

No. of failures for previous 12 month period 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

% of samples that comply in previous 12 month period

99.1% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 100.0% 100.0%

Compliance with 98% annual value YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

Drinking water scheme: Copperlode/Behana

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%


Drinking water scheme: Babinda

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%



Drinking water scheme: Bessie Point

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%


Drinking water scheme: Bellenden Ker

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%


Drinking water scheme: Bramston Beach

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%


Table 18: Bellenden Ker E. coli Monitoring Results

Table 19: Bessie Point E. coli Monitoring Results

Table 20: Bramston Beach E. coli Monitoring Results


Drinking water scheme: Mirriwinni

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%


Drinking water scheme: Fishery Falls

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0




98.5% 98.5% 98.5% 98.5% 98.5% 100.0% 98.5% 98.5% 98.5% 98.5% 98.5% 98.5%


Drinking water scheme: Mountain View/Orchid Valley

Year 2019 - 2020




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.3% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 99.2% 100.0%


Table 21: Fishery Falls E. coli Monitoring Results

Table 22: Mirriwinni E. coli Monitoring Results

Table 23: Mountain View/Orchid Valley E. coli Monitoring Results


Trends results for this year’s performance are shown in the following diagrams. A full summary of results for the VMP are shown in the tables for each scheme in section Verification Monitoring Program Results Summary Statistics. An incident investigation is undertaken when testing identifies drinking water quality does not meet ADWG health guideline values or a critical control limit is breached. Investigation findings and improvements are discussed in section ‘Notifying the Regulator’.

HEALTH-RELATED CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT

AESTHETIC ASSESSMENT

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Council’s risk management approach identifies substances that may be present and may pose a risk to public health or influence optimal water quality characteristics. Council’s Verification Monitoring Program checks and analyses these substances, which are routinely trended and assessed against ADWG health-related and aesthetic limits.

The Verification Monitoring Program underpins Council’s ability to confirm the supply of safe drinking water to our customers. We take advantage of the program to assess non-health related parameters that contribute to the way the water tastes, smells and appears. These aesthetic guideline values are treated as quality triggers to identify improvement opportunities.


SUMMARY VERIFICATION MONITORING PROGRAM - CHARTS

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines aesthetic value for turbidity is 5 NTU. Six tests were at or above this value. There is no health guideline value for turbidity. Two results measuring >5 NTU on 2 October 2019 were associated with the incident “Dirty Water Northern Beaches”, see section Notifying the Regulator for more information.

Figure 2: Turbidity Treated Water Reticulation graph

Figure 3: pH Treated Water Reticulation graph


Figure 4: pH Treated Water Reservoirs graph

Figure 5: Chlorine (Free & Total) Treated Water Reticulation graph

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines aesthetic value range for pH is 6.5 – 8.5. However, excursions do occur with values outside this range recorded. There is no health guideline value for pH, although the guide identifies that values <4 and >11 may adversely affect health. While most test results are within the guideline range a number of results above the 8.5 aesthetic limit are likely to result from an interaction between the water and cement lined pipes in the reticulation network. Alkaline water above a pH of 8 can impair the efficiency of chlorine disinfection. Council closely monitor disinfection performance through testing microbial indicators to ensure the effectiveness of chlorine is not compromised by elevated pH.


Figure 6: Chlorine (Free & Total) Treated Water Reservoirs graph

Figure 7: Temperature Treated Water Reticulation & Reservoirs graph

Chlorine is used to disinfect water to control pathogens, the Australian Drinking Water Guideline health value is 5 mg/L. Water supplied remained below this value.

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines contain no guideline limit for temperature. Temperatures range to greater values in the reticulation system compared to reservoirs, and waters naturally increase in temperature over the summer period.


Figure 8: Aluminium Treated Water Reticulation graph graph

Figure 9: Copper Treated Water Reticulation graph

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines aesthetic value for aluminium is 0.2 mg/L. Two results exceeded this limit throughout the year. There is no health guideline value for aluminium.

The Australian Drinking Water Guideline aesthetic value for copper is 1 mg/L and health value is 2 mg/L. Drinking water supplies remained within this specification throughout the year.


Figure 10: Iron Treated Water Reticulation graph

Figure 11: Lead Treated Water Reticulation graph

The Australian Drinking Water Guideline aesthetic value for iron is 0.3 mg/L. There was one exceedance of this value in the year. There is no health guideline value for iron.

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines health value for lead is 0.01 mg/L. All verification monitoring samples were less than the guideline value for the reporting period. The value above the line on the graph has a result of 0.0124 mg/L which when rounded to the nearest significant figure equals 0.01 mg/L and hence does not exceed the health guideline limit. This method of rounding to the nearest significant figure is outlined in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.


Figure 12: Manganese Treated Water Reticulation graph

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines aesthetic value for manganese is 0.1 mg/L. There was one exceedance of this value in the year. The health guideline value for manganese is 0.5 mg/L and no results exceeded this value.


Table 24: Babinda Treated Water Summary Statistics

Note: ‘Not detected’ and ‘less than’ results have been replaced with zero prior to calculation of averages. This is because whole numbers are required for calculating averages.

VERIFICATION MONITORING PROGRAM RESULTS SUMMARY STATISTICS

BABINDA

Result Name Number of Tests Average Minimum Maximum Median ADWG

Value

Number out of spec

results

Units

Apparent Colour 104 1.48 <1 8.2 1.5 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units

E coli 106 0.00 <1 <1 <1 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 0 CFU/100mL

Free Chlorine 105 0.60 <0.1 1.4 0.72 ≤ 5.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Heterotrophic Plate Count 104 2.98 <10 30 0 CFU/mL

Aluminium 27 0.03 0.016 0.061 0.025 ≤ 0.2 mg/L 0 mg/L

Copper 27 0.01 0.003 0.121 0.009 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 27 0.03 0.013 0.088 0.026 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 27 0.00 <0.0005 0.0125 0.0008 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L

Manganese 27 0.00 0.0003 0.0046 0.0006 ≤ 0.1 mg/L 0 mg/L

pH 104 7.57 7.3 8.6 7.5 6.5 - 8.5 1

Temperature 105 25.92 21 30 26 °C

Total Chlorine 105 0.66 <0.1 1.5 0.78 mg/L

Total coliforms 106 0.00 <1 <1 <1 CFU/100mL

Turbidity 104 0.32 0.1 2.1 0.2 ≤ 5 NTU 0 NTU


Table 25: Bartle Frere Treated Water Summary Statistics

BARTLE FRERE

Result Name Number of Tests Average Minimum Maxi-

mum Median ADWG Value

Number out of spec

results

Units

Apparent Colour 105 0.34 <1 2.7 0 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units



Heterotrophic Plate Count 105 2.10 <10 20 0 CFU/mL

Aluminium 26 0.01 <0.015 0.031 0.018 ≤ 0.2 mg/L 0 mg/L

Copper 26 0.01 0.005 0.019 0.012 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 26 0.01 <0.008 0.023 0.013 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 26 0.00 <0.0005 0.0006 0 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L


pH 106 7.48 6.9 8 7.5 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 107 25.70 21 30 26 °C

Total Chlorine 107 0.72 <0.1 2.2 0.73 mg/L

Total coliforms 109 0.00 <1 <1 0 CFU/100mL



BRAMSTON BEACH



Number of OOS results

Units

Amoeba - Thermophilic Amoeba 14 0.00 0 0

Amoeba \speciation - Naegleria fowleri 3 0.00 Not Detected 0 0 CFU/100mL

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria spp 3 0.00 Not Detected 0 0 mg/L

Apparent Colour 52 0.72 <1 6.6 0 <= 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units


Free Chlorine 54 0.64 0.17 1.2 0.6 <= 5.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Heterotrophic Plate Count 52 0.96 <10 30 0 0 CFU/mL

Aluminium 13 0.01 <0.015 0.031 0.016 <= 0.2 mg/L 0 mg/L

Copper 13 0.01 0.009 0.022 0.014 <= 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 13 0.03 0.013 0.047 0.026 <= 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 13 0.00 0.0005 0.0009 0.0007 <= 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L

Manganese 13 0.00 0.0002 0.0005 0.0003 <= 0.1 mg/L 0 mg/L

pH 53 7.46 7.3 7.6 7.5 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 54 27.37 23 32 28 0 °C

Total Chlorine 54 0.71 0.29 1.2 0.67 0 mg/L

Total coliforms 54 0.00 <1 <1 <1 0 CFU/100mL

Turbidity 53 0.30 0.1 4.5 0.1 <= 5 NTU 0 NTU

Table 26: Bramston Beach Treated Water Summary Statistics


BELLENDEN KER



Number out of spec

results

Units

Apparent Colour 52 1.44 <1 27 0 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units


Free Chlorine 54 0.56 <0.1 1 0.675 ≤ 5.0 mg/L 0 mg/L



Copper 13 0.01 0.005 0.011 0.007 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 13 0.01 0.008 0.044 0.01 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 13 0.00 <0.0005 <0.0005 <0.0005 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L


pH 52 8.38 7.6 9.2 8.35 6.5 - 8.5 17

Temperature 54 25.52 22 30 25.5 0 °C

Total Chlorine 54 0.62 <0.1 1.2 0.715 0 mg/L


True Colour 2 1.50 1.4 1.6 1.5 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units


BESSIE POINT



Number out of spec

results

Units




Heterotrophic Plate Count 52 0.77 <10 <10 0 0 CFU/mL


Copper 13 0.02 0.006 0.075 0.018 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 13 0.02 <0.008 0.06 0.015 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 13 0.00 <0.0005 0.0035 0.0005 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L


pH 52 7.09 6.3 7.5 7.1 6.5 - 8.5 1

Temperature 52 27.85 24 33 28 0 °C


Total coliforms 52 0.02 <1 <1 0 0 CFU/100mL


Table 27: Bellenden Ker Treated Water Summary Statistics

Table 28: Bessie Point Treated Water Summary Statistics


COPPERLODE/BEHANA

Result Name Number of Tests Average Mini-

mumMaxi-mum Median ADWG

Value

Number out of spec

results

Units


Ammonia 2 0.00 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0 mg/L N

Amoeba - Thermophilic Amoeba 83 3 Detections 0

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria fowleri 3 Not Detect-

ed 0

Amoeba speciation - Naegleria spp 3 2 Detections 0

Apparent Colour 1548 0.54 <1 31 0 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units

Bromodichloromethane 156 7.02 <5 16 7 0 µg/L

Bromoform 156 0.12 <5 19 0 0 µg/L

Chloride 2 8.75 7.5 10 8.75 ≤ 250.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Chlorite 153 0.00 <0.005 0.094 0 ≤ 0.8 mg/L 0 mg/L

Chloroform 156 24.32 <5 87 17.5 0 µg/L

Copper 582 0.01 0.001 0.132 0.005 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Dibromochloromethane 156 0.11 <5 6 0 0 µg/L


Electrical Conductance 51 57.94 55 62 58 0 µS/cm



Iron 580 0.02 0.008 0.372 0.011 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 1 mg/L

Lead 581 0.00 <0.0005 0.0067 0 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L


Nitrate 2 0.06 0.04 0.07 0.055 0 mg/L N

Nitrite 2 0.00 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0 mg/L N

pH 2151 7.46 6.3 9.2 7.4 6.5 - 8.5 51

Silicon 2 8.85 7.7 10 8.85 0 mg/ L SiO2

Sodium 2 6.80 5.6 8 6.80 ≤ 180.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Sulphate 2 2.65 1.2 4.1 2.65 ≤ 250.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Temperature 2181 25.53 18 34 26 0 °C

Total Alkalinity 656 8.85 4.1 21 8.60 0 mg CaCO3 / L


Total coliforms 2221 0.00 <1 75 0 0 CFU/100mL

Total Dissolved Solids 2 41.00 37 45 41 ≤ 600 mg/L 0 mg/L

Total Oxidised Nitrogen (TON) 2 0.06 0.04 0.07 0.055 0 mg/L N

Table 29: Copperlode/Behana Treated Water Summary Statistics


COPPERLODE/BEHANA

Result Name Number of Tests Average Mini-

mumMaxi-mum Median ADWG

Value

Number out of spec

results

Units

Total Trihalomethanes 156 31.43 <5 94 26 ≤ 250.0 µg/L 0 µg/L

True Colour 3 0.90 <1 1.5 1.2 ≤ 15.0 Pt/Co units 0 Pt/Co units

Turbidity 1548 0.12 <0.1 5.9 0.1 ≤ 5 NTU 2 NTU

Zinc 2 0.00 <0.008 <0.008 <0.008 ≤ 3.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

FISHERY FALLS



Number out of spec

results

Units


E coli 54 0.07 <1 <1 0 < 1.0 CFU/100mL 1 CFU/100mL

Free Chlorine 54 0.66 0.14 1.4 0.63 ≤ 5.0 mg/L 0 mg/L



Copper 13 0.01 0.005 0.016 0.006 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 13 0.02 0.009 0.035 0.016 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 13 0.00 <0.0005 <0.0005 <0.0005 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L


pH 52 8.02 7.6 8.9 7.9 6.5 - 8.5 6

Temperature 54 24.80 19 29 26 0 °C


Total coliforms 54 1.85 <1 >100 0 0 CFU/100mL


Table 30: Fishery Falls Treated Water Summary Statistics


MOUNTAIN VIEW/ORCHID VALLEY


mumMedi-

an ADWG Value

Number out of spec

results

Units





ICPMS Aluminium 26 0.01 <0.015 0.048 0.0075 ≤ 0.2 mg/L 0 mg/L

ICPMS Copper 26 0.11 0.026 0.294 0.0835 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

ICPMS Iron 26 0.04 0.019 0.077 0.037 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

ICPMS Lead 26 0.00 <0.0005 0.0012 0.0008 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L

ICPMS Manganese 26 0.00 0.0007 0.0119 0.00185 ≤ 0.1 mg/L 0 mg/L

pH 104 7.46 7 7.8 7.55 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 107 26.07 21 31 26 0 °C

Total Chlorine 107 0.96 0.4 1.4 1 0 mg/L



Table 32: Mountain View/Orchid Valley Treated Water Summary Statistics

MIRRIWINNI



Number out of spec

results

Units




Heterotrophic Plate Count 52 0.58 <10 <10 0 0 CFU/mL


Copper 13 0.01 0.006 0.014 0.010 ≤ 1.0 mg/L 0 mg/L

Iron 13 0.00 <0.008 0.016 0 ≤ 0.3 mg/L 0 mg/L

Lead 13 0.00 <0.0005 0.0013 0 ≤ 0.01 mg/L 0 mg/L


pH 52 7.37 7.3 7.5 7.4 6.5 - 8.5 0

Temperature 54 24.37 20 29 24 0 °C




Table 31: Mirriwinni Treated Water Summary Statistics


NOTIFYING THE REGULATORUnder sections 102 and 102A of the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008, Council is required to immediately inform DNRME if the quality of water supplied from the drinking water service does not comply with the water quality health criteria as specified in the ADWG, or if Council becomes aware of an incident as prescribed under a regulation.

Council made two notifications to DNRME during the reporting period, summarised in Table 33 and Table 34 below.

Table 33: E. coli incident at Fishery Falls


Table 34: Dirty Water incident in Northern Beaches


CUSTOMER SATISFACTIONCairns Regional Council recognises the value of community engagement in building confidence in our water quality. We value customer feedback as it enables us to continuously improve our services. We recognise that customers or members of the community may need to provide feedback if a service or product fails to meet their expectations or our standards. This feedback is captured, recorded and monitored to help identify any trends and possible areas of improvement in the operation, maintenance and management of the networks.

We keep customers informed about drinking water quality by maintaining a web page that provides:

• an overview of all drinking water supply systems;

• results of water quality test results; and

• reports about water quality performance.

The web page is available at: http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/water-waste-roads/water/water-sources-supply

Customers can raise urgent or non-urgent problems about drinking water quality by contacting Council by phone, in person at the Council or by using the process available at: http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/home/contact-us/contact-us-online, or via the My Cairns app.

During 2019/2020, Council received a total of 221 complaints about water quality. Of these complaints, 63% were about colour, 30% about quality, 4% about taste, and 3% were about odour. A summary of customer complaints by category are shown in Figure 13 below.

COLOUR

63%

3%

4%

30%

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

BY TYPE

ODOURQUALITY

TASTE

Figure 13: Customer complaints about drinking water quality by type

Cairns Regional Council aims to do better tomorrow what we did well today, for the DWQMS this means improvements are continually made to all assets and operation practices. Improvement opportunities are identified as a result of audits, incident reviews, research projects and benchmarking industry practice. Improvement projects agreed by the management team are recorded in the Risk Management Improvement Program (RMIP).

Improvement projects are prioritised according to risk and budget cycles. The RMIP informs the capital and operational works planning process. However, where a project is needed to manage an unforeseen serious risk, contingency funds are identified.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT


DWQMP REVIEW An Information Notice for the Decision to approve an amended version of Council’s approved Drinking Water Quality Management Plan dated 14 December 2018 was issued by DNRME. Under the approval, Council was required to review the plan by 31 March 2020.

A key component of the review process was a meeting involving various Water & Waste staff to complete a ‘DWQMP Implementation’ checklist to identify any updates regarding the drinking water supply system that could require a change to Council’s DWQMP. The elements discussed in this meeting included:

• Service Description

• Details of infrastructure used for providing the service

• Information gathering on water quality and catchment characteristics

• Hazard Identification

• Assessment of risks

• Risk management measures

• Operation and maintenance procedures

• Management of incidents and emergencies

• Risk management improvement program (RMIP)

• Service-wide support information management

• Operational monitoring

• Verification monitoring

• Other areas

The DWQMP review resulted in updates and new additions to various elements of the Plan to help meet regulatory requirements and continuously improve the document. The Plan was assessed against the DNRME Drinking Water Quality Management Plan Guideline to identify areas where the Plan can be brought in line with the requirements in the Guideline during the 2020 review and into the future.

APPROVAL OF PLAN

Following the 2020 review and update of the Plan, Council made an application to DNRME on 15 May 2020 to amend the approved DWQMP with the updates mentioned above. Upon receival of the Plan, DNRME issued Council with an Information Requirement Notice, requiring Council to provide further information about specific aspects of the Plan in order to approve the Plan. This included further changes to the Plan to meet the Department’s requirements. Council responded to the request in a timely manner and await a decision on the Plan’s approval.

DWQMP AUDIT FINDINGS

Pursuant to subsection 99(2)(c) of the Water Supply (Safety & Reliability) Act 2008, audits of the DWQMP must be undertaken by an external party with relevant qualifications at a frequency stipulated by the Regulator. No regulatory audit was scheduled to occur in 2019/2020.

The last scheduled regulatory audit occurred in March 2017. For more detail about the findings of the audit and subsequent actions taken by Council, please see the 2018/2019 Drinking Water Annual Report on Council’s website.

The next audit is scheduled to be conducted by 30 June 2021. At a Quarterly Drinking Water Quality Coordination Team meeting held on 29 October 2020, plans were made for preparation activities in the lead up to the audit.


IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES

Data sourced from Cairns Regional Council Program of Works 2019/20: Water, Wastewater & Waste #6138798

The improvement program of works undertaken on water infrastructure for the 2019/2020 financial year, included:

• Freshwater Creek Water Treatment Plant upgrade filters - $3.0M

• Freshwater Creek Water Treatment Plant sodium hypo dosing pump, chlorine handling facilities and alum and soda tank upgrade - $646k

• Draper Rd Water Treatment Plant - $208k

• Mulgrave River Water Supply - $212k

• Water & Waste sodium hypochlorite sites condition assessment and remediation works plan - $120k

• Water Lab replacement of equipment - $135k

• Smart Water Meters Project - $3.4M

• 2019/20 New revenue water meter installations - $746k

• Water main replacement program - $2.21M

• Yorkeys Knob trunk water main - McGregor Rd to Yorkeys Knob Rd - $1.71M

• Infrastructure Agreement - DN375 McGregor Rd to Yorkeys Knob Rd trunk reticulation augmentation - $550k

• Babinda Reservoir outlet main and configuration augmentation - $150k

• Shale St trunk water main install actuated valves and electrical works - $15k

• Hot Water main replacement program - Manunda - $513k

• Refurbishment of Henley Hill No.3, No 4. And No. 5 water reservoirs - $1.15M

• Park Ridge water reservoir refurbishment - $55k

• White Gap No. 1 water reservoir refurbishment - $50k

• Janett St water reservoir refurbishment - $50k

• Bayview Water pump station pump renewal - $561k

• Bartle Frere Intake Weir structure design and refurbishment - $59k

• Crystal Cascades replace raw water control valve - $100k

• Rural Intakes replacement of Turbidimeters - $52k

• Behana Intake Weir wall condition assessment and remediation works - $30k

• Freshwater Creek Water Treatment Plant/Crystal Cascades Intake upgrade - $20k

• Behana Water Treatment Plant scour upgrade - $100k

• Water quality data acquisition expansion - $140k


GLOSSARY

ADWG Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2011). Published by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

CRC Cairns Regional Council

DNRME Department of Natural Resources Mines and Energy

DWQMP Drinking Water Quality Management Plan

DWQMS Drinking Water Quality Management System

HACCPHazard Analysis and Critical Control Points certification for protecting drink-ing water quality

NATA National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia

VMP Verification Monitoring Program

SWIMStatewide Water Information Management. SWIM is a database used by Water Service Providers to report data on water and sewerage services to numerous State and Commonwealth agencies.

Documents

DRINKING WATER QUALITY 2019-2020