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Water chip an award winning innovation for Sorell Council

A device which provides Sorell residents with simple and reliable access to water for their domestic needs has earned Sorell Council's Manager Engineering Services, Max Melton, an Excellence Award in Technical Practice and Innovation.

The Award was presented at Tasmania's Annual Conference of the Local Government Association, the Institute of Municipal Engineering, the Institute of Municipal Management and the Local Government Community Development Association held in June.

Sorell, located 23 kilometres east of Hobart, originally developed as holiday shacks during the late 1950s to 1970s. As a result, the area does not have a reticulated water supply. The relatively small population of 4,000 increases significantly during summer and holiday periods.

Water must be carted from Sorell for domestic use, with 12 percent of the total water consumption being carted to the Southern Beaches area. Water was supplied for domestic and commercial use through manually operated delivery points, with only one 'token operated' public point.

Max Melton said this system, still in use 18 months ago, attracted vandalism, a high maintenance bill, and provided poor service to the community.

"Council investigated options to provide a better service and decided to use a system developed by Avdata Pty Ltd," he said.

"Originally this system was used for commercial truck wash bays, automatically debiting truck owners' accounts.

"We determined that the system could be adapted to suit our water distribution needs.

"The resulting Automated Water Dispensing Facility is operated by a computer chip that controls and meters the water being delivered."

The system involves users purchasing an electronic key to give them access to the water. The system works in a 'user pays' method for public users with the controller cutting off supply once the amount of water purchased has been exhausted.

The commercial carriers' consumption figures are downloaded on a monthly basis and accounts sent out. A simple phone call to council will allow members of the public to find out the balance on their key.

Sorell Council's design and implementation of this Automated Water Dispensing Facility demonstrates that efficiencies in delivering Local Government services can be achieved by using current and emerging technologies.

"We have improved the delivery of this service in a cost effective way and we have received excellent, positive feedback from all the system's users," Max Melton said.

"The use of the technology in this way is a first in Australia and it has greatly improved the reliability and ease of operation for both our domestic customers and for bulk water carriers."

For further information contact Roy Langman, Engineering Assistant, telephone (03) 6265 2201.

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