Plant operations and maintenance during flood events

February 2022 flooding across South East Queensland brought record-breaking rainfall totals devastating the region. In just three days, Brisbane received 80 per cent of its typical annual rainfall. More recently in May, some regions were inundated all over again.

During events like these, Simmonds & Bristow is engaged in a range of activities to support clients who have Operations and Maintenance arrangements in place with us and also respond to calls for help from those who have been caught out and need help to become prepared, or help to clean up.

As an example, one client, a coastal tourist resort, had recorded 577mm of rainfall between the 23rd of February and the 28th February 2022. The unrelenting rain caused rapid rises in effluent flows and levels through the site sewage treatment plant (STP) and across the site’s five sewage treatment ponds. As the forecast became more serious, documented and rehearsed contingency plans were able to be implemented without fuss and in good time, despite the extreme and unprecedented nature of the rainfall and associated infiltration.

Because we had already been regularly engaged in the operation and maintenance of this resort’s STP and water treatment plant (WTP), we were able to gauge the potential impacts if the systems were to become overwhelmed by that amount of water.

Clients with Operations and Maintenance arrangements in place with us had these things covered during an event like this:

• Implementation of emergency and contingency measures.
• Notifications to the Department of Environment and Science (DES) on behalf of the client about possible emergency actions required, including submission of the Site-Based Management Plan (SBMP) and wet weather contingency plan.
• Our attendance at the site throughout and following the event monitoring and adjusting pond water levels, adjusting emergency releases to the site irrigation zones daily to avoid visible runoff.
• We collected release and impact samples and transported them to the nearest NATA accredited laboratory for analysis.
• We monitored weather forecasts and launched the contingency plan in time to prevent a catastrophic breach.

Any business operating a water, wastewater or sewage treatment plant where effluent could overflow into the surrounding environment or catchment, is running potentially serious risks if it does not have a management plan and competent operators in place for times like these. Our operators are backed by a team of experts who specialise in every aspect of the water and wastewater management business.

Due to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns setting in, it could be a good time to reconsider the protection that even a “light touch” maintenance program could provide.

Closure of an incident notice without penalty, EPO, audit or investigation by the Department of Environment is the desirable outcome. Simmonds & Bristow offers the kind of support that can help you achieve that. When the DES understand you have professional help on board and are working towards meeting the terms of your licence to operate, they are far more likely to be understanding and supportive. “Going it alone” can raise far more scrutiny and concern when something goes wrong.

During this year’s flood events, we found that organisations that undertook the following actions had a far better experience:

1. They had documented contingency plans embedded in their Site-Based Management Plans for flood (and other) emergencies.
2. They implemented what was in their plan during the event, and had the right people and equipment in place as per their plan, to do so.
3. They conducted event and post-event monitoring to confirm and document no impact or any harm caused.
4. They shared that information with the Department of the Environment and Science in a proactive way.

If you have some questions, feel free to call us 1800 620 690 to talk it over. You could also visit our website to find out more about our Operations and Maintenance Services.