WHEN you filled your kettle this morning for your morning brew, you’d be surprised at the work that went into producing that clean stream of water.
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Reverse osmosis, gas chlorination, fluoridation, it’s all happening below the surface and it’s only when it stops running, do we pay it any attention.
At the other end of the line, the sewage treatment process, it’s a heady world of microbe control, odour management and sewerline maintenance.
At the NSW Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA) conference being held in the Anzac Park sports stadium, engineers, plumbers and representatives from 42 regional councils from around Australia, are discovering the latest innovations in water management.
“It’s a hugely popular conference,” said executive officer George Wall.
“We have over 120 sites in the hall and a room set aside for talks and discussions.”
Exhibitors from Victoria and Queensland are joining New South Wales businesses to share their knowledge and snare any business opportunities.
“This is where their customers are,” Mr Wall said.
“Local council engineers and staff from around Australia all come along to this conference and that creates a terrific opportunity to share ideas, problems and solutions.”
For the general public the conference offers a fascinating insight into what happens before you open the tap, or after you flush the toilet.
“Even if you drink rainwater,” said Rod Wellings form Royce Water Technologies. “You’ll probably run it through a filter to take out the leaves and the phosphate from the bird droppings.”
The WIOA runs three conferences a year with Orange firming as a favourite location.
“It’s very central for us,” Mr Wall said.
“We also organise conferences in Victoria and Queensland and to have this facility in Orange, where we can discuss papers and have an exhibition space, it’s terrific.”
The construction of the Macquarie pipeline, along with visits to the sewer and water treatment plants, have been on the visitors’ agenda.