Safe and clean water

Toowoomba City Council will use three processes to purify all wastewater.  The process involves Ultrafiltration, Reverse Osmosis and Ultra Violet Disinfection.  These processes remove hormones and other harmful substances without the use of chemicals.

Studies and monitoring undertaken over a period of more than 10 years for the Orange County (California USA) Groudwater Replenishment system and two years in the Singapore New Water system have not detected concentrations of hormones or other potentially harmful substances.

The media has expressed concerns about the effect of human hormones that are accumulating in all parts of the food chain including water.  These types of hormones include the 17-beta-estradiol (commonly used in birth control pills) and other molecules such as testosterone and eostrogen.

Communities around the world that are increasing their available drinking water supplies with water that is of a wastewater origin are also concerned about the carry over of these compounds into drinking water. Consequently, communities such as Singapore, Orange County (USA) and North Occoquan (USA) routinely monitor for hormones in the treated water that is mixed into native water supplies.

These molecules are readily removed by the reverse osmosis membranes used in the treatment plant. This is supported by routine monitoring data which has failed to detect large molecules like 17-b-estradiol and eostrogen in the water.

This is based on more than two years of testing and two years of operating history in Singapore and an equivalent amount of monitoring in Orange County.  Notwithstanding this, Toowoomba City Council will establish its own testing and monitoring program along with testing by The Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth and Scientific Industrial Research Organisation to assess water quality before any treated water is used to increase current water supplies.