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East Gippsland Water Media ReleaseStaff pull out the stops to maintain water supplies through bush fire and power cuts
By East Gippsland Water - 11th February 2011 - Back to News East Gippsland Water staff worked round the clock to ensure uninterrupted drinking water supplies for thousands of customers between Nowa Nowa and Mallacoota, as this week’s Tostaree bush fire led to widespread power cuts.
Using well rehearsed procedures, staff maintained water and wastewater services for the communities of Orbost, Newmerella, Marlo, Cann River, Bemm River and Mallacoota, using diesel-powered generators as a substitute for the electricity supply. Invaluable help was also provided by a number of contractors.
Said East Gippsland Water’s Managing Director, Les Mathieson: "We have comprehensive measures in place to maintain drinking water supplies wherever possible in the event of bush fires, with back-up generators located at critical sites across East Gippsland, such as water treatment plants and pump stations.
"Our aim is to keep drinking water flowing to households regardless of the electricity supply, with generators coming into operation should the electricity fail. In addition our water storages are kept as close to full as possible over summer to cope with any sudden
increases in demand.
"All this infrastructure means nothing without the commitment to ensure its effective operation. The success of our response to this latest incident is testament to the hard work and dedication of our operational staff. They worked tirelessly, often long into the night, to ensure customers continued to receive water and wastewater services much as normal, despite the electricity supply being cut off for some time. In some cases supplementary generators had to transferred from one site to another under difficult conditions."
Ends
Ronan Carroll
Communications Manager
East Gippsland Water
P 03 5150 4434
M 0428 539 303
F 03 5150 4477
E rcarroll@egwater.vic.gov.au
W www.egwater.vic.gov.au
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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