How S&B helped you prepare for the worst
On Monday the 3rd of March, all systems were go as it was looking more and more likely that Tropical Cyclone Alfred would make landfall somewhere between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, putting us and our Brisbane-based clients in the path for a once in a lifetime force of destruction.
Monday morning teams met and plans were hatched on how to approach preparations for the cyclone, our technical services team got to work preparing our operational sites for the worst.
Gold Coast Sites
Stephen Walters, our Operations Supervisor, is the primary carer of our long-term client on the Gold Coast.
How did your home fare? No electricity for 8 days, several trees down that took out our phone line and crushed a full 25000L water tank. Access to our home was cut several times by fallen trees and power lines
The primary concern with their site with the impending cyclone was stormwater ingress to the sewage system that would threaten to cause effluent storage and irrigation ponds to overflow into the adjacent creek.
Preparation involved reducing the pond levels to a minimum and setting up petrol-powered pumps to transfer water to the emergency irrigation zone. Stephen hunkered in onsite for 5 days throughout the storm to keep the pumps fueled and operating.
His efforts were not for naught, despite the heavy rainfall experienced on the Gold Coast, there was no pond overflows, saving our client from potential pain.
It was not, however, all smooth sailing, the loss of power added to the issues, and the careful planning and implementation of petrol-powered pumps helped. The forethought to also hire generation equipment ensured power to the sewage pump station.
The unexpected outcomes of these weather events is an excellent reminder why it’s so important to have your plans in place and know exactly how your site is faring. Read how we helped one of our clients when they were caught out during the last La Nina event in early 2022…read more.
Brisbane Sites
Our Engineers were also busy during cyclone preparations. Responsible for two of our Brisbane-based clients, Ross Karipoff got to work ensuring they would come out as successfully as possible in the event of the storm.
Ross made initial contact with both clients early in the week to check in and consider preparations. He knew that both sites were at threat of overflows at the STPs, with one client’s open wet weather storage already near capacity before any rainfall, and the other having known stormwater issues.
So, what did they do to prepare?
“I contacted the client prior to the cyclone and liaised with our main operator there (Randall) to make preparations. It was decided to open the
How did your own home fare?
Mostly fine. Water got into through the roof and wet a part of my ceiling (plasterboard). Some minor visible damage.
stormwater valve within the STP compound. This valve (located in a pit within the STP compound) allows any stormwater to drain away to the nearby gully.”
The wet weather storage dam has an overflow pipe that directs overflows to the STP compound, which increases the risk of flooding at the STP and catastrophic damage to electrical components as well as inundation of the in-ground STP tanks/ commingling of stormwater and partially treated/untreated wastewater effluent.
Similar to our Gold Coast site, Ross also suggested implementing a transportable pump to pump out the wet weather storage dam to a vegetated area further away from the STP and nearby gully, which would slow the release of treated effluent to waterways and provide some treatment via the vegetation. Unfortunately, they were unable to acquire one.
“I advised the client to take a water sample from the wet weather storage dam, to get an understanding of the water quality of the dam and allow for the calculation of environmental impact from any overflow/release. I visited the site prior to the cyclone and took the sample.”
The results
Across both sites, the preparations were successful in preventing the worst outcomes.
As expected, the wet weather storage dam overflowed on Site A, due to existing conditions and the unfortunate timing of damage to the irrigation infrastructure which had put the irrigation system out of action for 4 weeks leading up to the cyclone. The client was only able to access the STP on Wednesday (12th) as the road to the STP was inaccessible. However, there was no power loss, flooding or damage to components, meaning Ross’s preparations prevented any further issues.
Where required, S&B will be providing further assistance to our client, including environmental impact assessments and liaison with the Environmental Department.
Although Cyclone Alfred didn’t come to as much of a head as many of us were expecting, it still left some devastating results. We were grateful to have been able to maintain operations across all Brisbane and Gold Coast-based sites throughout this turn of wild weather.
Now all staff are back on deck, working to help you continue to make good clean water.
