Pump Industry Magazine

Unitywater will be busy over the next five years delivering water and wastewater infrastructure for a ballooning Queensland region. One of Australia’s fastest-growing regions is undergoing a water and wastewater overhaul under the tutelage of Unitywater.

The first commissioning run is critical to the trouble-free operation of a pump set. What is involved in this process? The previous chapter of Pump Industry Australia’s (PIA) Pump Technical Handbook established how to prepare a centrifugal pump for commissioning. This instalment will discuss the commissioning run. Assuming the pump has been started and is running under full load, the commissioning run takes place as follows: 1. When the pump discharge valve is fully open, record the following: a.

Seqwater is advancing a suite of projects across its network, including a new underground bulk water pipeline to unlock more water transfer between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Planning on the pipeline, which will connect North Pine to Morayfield, continues, with a detailed business case (DBC) being developed to further define the project scope, benefits and delivery approach. This is set for completion in early 2027.

An industrial precinct that contributes $20 billion annually to the national economy is set for a boost as the nearby Kwinana water recycling plant undergoes an $81 million overhaul. Having supplied almost 17 million litres of recycled water per day since 2004, the facility will increase its output by a further 10 million litres a day, with a 25-year extension to its service life.

As Melbourne water storage levels drop to their lowest point in six years, desalinated water has started flowing from the Victorian desalination plant near Wonthaggi. Cardinia Reservoir is the first recipient of the desalinated water, with 150 billion litres of water to flow into greater Melbourne over the next year. It comes after the Victorian Government announced a record 150-gigalitre (GL) order of water from the desalination plant in April.

Riverina Water is investing $21 million in water and wastewater projects across its network in 2026–27. This includes $3.3 million for water main replacement and installation, $1.7 million for treatment plant projects, and $1 million for reservoir projects. The NSW utility will also spend $11 million on its solar farm and energy storage project. Customers will see an 8 per cent increase in water bills from July 1, which Riverina Water chair Gail Driscoll explained further.

Victorian water and wastewater assets are set for a rush of investment in the coming years after the state’s economic regulator approved customer price increases for 2026–27. With Melbourne Water recently greenlit by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) to invest $7.3 billion in essential infrastructure between 2026 and 2031, North East Water got the nod to invest $280 million in infrastructure projects and ongoing water and sewerage services.

The Prospect Vale sewerage improvement project marks the first stage of TasWater’s broader sewage treatment transformation across northern Tasmania. The project will retire ageing infrastructure that no longer meets TasWater’s environmental and service standards, redirecting wastewater to the existing Ti Tree Bend sewage treatment plant (STP) and creating a more reliable and resilient sewer network for the Launceston region.

Ron Astall of United Pumps asks whether Bernoulli’s principle is dead or alive in pumping applications. Why and when do I need to add velocity head into my calculations? Should I include velocity head in my NASHa* (net absolute suction head) calculations. Bernoulli’s principle, based on conservation of energy, states that when the speed of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases.

From the Northern Territory to Tasmania, pump infrastructure projects are actively under construction right across the country. In the first instalment of Project Watch, Pump Industry outlines five notable projects pump industry professionals should be across. Construction is well advanced on Australia’s next major desalination facility at Alkimos, north of Perth.