Ipswich City Council

Corporate Profile

Ipswich Water provides quality drinking (potable) water to approximately 54,000 customers, representing a growing population of 143,000 people within Ipswich City.

We are a medium to large Australian water service provider directly employing approximately 250 full-time equivalent staff, including permanent, temporary and contract staff across key professions and trades. Our workforce is dedicated to delivering superior customer and operational service.

Our Services

We source our bulk water from Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam storages on the Brisbane River, which are owned and managed by SEQ Water. This water flows naturally down the Brisbane River to the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant where it is treated to a standard fit for drinking. The Mt Crosby Treatment Plant is owned and operated by Brisbane City Council (BCC) through its commercial business unit, Brisbane Water.

Ipswich Water distributes treated drinking water through our supply network to the homes and businesses of our many customers, with regular monitoring and testing to ensure consistent high quality. We pride ourselves in meeting, and in most cases exceeding, guidelines and standards set by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

We also provide wastewater services to approximately 47,000 customers, representing an estimated population of 143,000 people within Ipswich. Wastewater, which includes sewerage and trade waste generated by homes and businesses, is collected via our network of sewer mains and transported to one of our four Wastewater Centres, located at Bundamba, Goodna, Carole Park and Rosewood.

These centres employ extensive treatment processes to remove solids, nutrients and chemical contaminants, effectively renewing the wastewater to a quality either fit for re-introduction to the natural environment or recycled water usage. Treated water undergoes regular laboratory testing, ensuring that it meets or exceeds environmental and water recycling standards set by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Our full range of products and services include

Town (potable) water supply
Domestic sewerage services
Recycled water supply
Collection and treatment of commercial and industrial trade waste
Tankered waste disposal
Biosolids disposal/re-use
Water audit services
Information and rebates on water efficient devices
Public and private infrastructure construction services
NATA accredited environmental laboratory
Plumbing, electrical and mechanical services
Thermographic camera services
Hire of pipe bursting equipment
CCTV inspection and condition assessment
Sale of related service information
Planning consultancy services
Strategic asset management of water and wastewater infrastructure

Our Customer Base

Our customer base is wide and varied consisting of residential, commercial and industrial, community organisations, civic services and rural customers. Each of these groups has differing requirements and growth patterns. We monitor customer satisfaction and service statistics to aid in understanding our customer base and their respective needs.

Our Commitment to Customer Service

At Ipswich Water we believe in quality customer service delivered in a prompt, professional, courteous and helpful manner. We welcome comments, suggestions and feedback to assist us in continuing to achieve this goal.

To ensure we continue to meet our customers' needs, Ipswich Water undertakes annual Customer Satisfaction Surveys through an independent research firm allowing us to evaluate our overall performance with respect to customer service and satisfaction. This is merely one way we seek to deliver and improve overall service delivery.

We maintain a Customer Service Standard outlining the minimum levels of service that our customers can expect to receive. Our Customer Service Standards cover various aspects of service delivery including customer service response, reliability, quality, pressure, connections, metering, billing and our complaints management processes.

Our Customer Service Charter

Our Assets

Ipswich Water is able to provide quality water services to its valued customers through effective management of our water and wastewater infrastructure.

Using the professional expertise of our staff, we endeavour to continue understanding our asset base to improve the timing of maintenance and rehabilitation intervention, thereby maintaining levels of service while minimising long term costs of service provision.

Our History

Ipswich City Council has provided quality water services to the Ipswich community for more than 120 years. With the creation of Ipswich Water as a commercialised business unit of Council in July 1998, water supply and sewerage service has continued with an emphasis on customer satisfaction and environmental management.

Jubilee History of Ipswich: A Record of Municipal, Industrial and Social Progress

(Extract from 'Jubilee History of Ipswich; A Record of Municipal, Industrial and Social Progress), edited by Geo Harrison, 3rd Reprint 1991, Perfection Press.

Chapter X

Ipswich is particularly fortunate in having a splendid water supply, controlled by the City Council. The source of the supply is the Brisbane River, in the vicinity of the Pine Mountain, about three or four miles from the City. It is a curious coincidence that Brisbane draws its main supply from the same source - in fact the Ipswich and Brisbane (Mount Crosby) pumping stations are within sight of each other. In its upper reaches the river is an ideal one for the supply in large volumes of good water for domestic purposes. The catchment area is among high and generally well grassed mountains, and as the water comes down from these, over stony and sandy bottoms, it is beautifully clear and pure. The Mount Crosby station is a few miles nearer to the mouth of the stream than the Ipswich station.

In the early days Ipswich residents got their water from the Bremer River. The stream, at that time, had not been polluted, and the water was suitable for household purposes. Later on a good deal of water was drawn from a well near the centre of the city - what is now the Central Gardens. This area was originally a water reserve, and was familiarly spoken of as the pump yard. As population increased a reticulation service became necessary, and various schemes were suggested from time to time. Mr J B Henderson, Government Hydraulic Engineer, supplied the following interesting retrospect to Alderman Goleby, when that gentleman was Mayor, in the year 1906:-

In November, 1871, the late Mr Samuel Shenton, then Mayor of the Town, wrote to the then Minister for Works (the Hon William Henry Walsh), inviting his attention to the necessity for constructing works for supplying water to the Town, and asking the Minister to receive a deputation on the matter. The result of this request I cannot trace. In December of the same year the late Sir A C Gregory made a report on a proposed pumping scheme, in which it appears the use of flanged pipes was proposed. It also seems that the prosed source of supply was at a point on the Brisbane River some three and a half miles from Ipswich; 'that a 20 horsepower pumping engine was to be used'; that the supply required was 16,000 gallons per hour; and that the cost was estimated at 21,119 pounds. He does not, however, appear to have approved of this scheme, as he then proposed the Bremer River was a better source of supply, the off take to be 'about half a mile below the One-Mile Bridge'. The cost of this scheme he estimated at about half that the Brisbane River scheme was estimated to cost. In June, 1873, the Town Clerk - Mr R J Kendall - took some steps to bring the question of the construction of waterworks to a head, but nothing definite appears to have resulted. Later, in November of the same year, however, the late Mr Thornloc Smith, who appears to have been meanwhile engaged in investigating the proposals, reported that surveys, plans, etc, would be ready in the following March. In the following April the same gentleman made his report to the Mayor, in which report he stated that 'the Bremer River contains all that is necessary for supplying the Town with plenty of pure water.' I cannot find that this report was accompanied by an estimate of the cost of the scheme he proposed, but he subsequently, in a report thereon to the Commissioner for Railways, mentioned that the cost would be about 22,646 pounds, and, finally, he deduced from working drawings that is would be 17,719 pounds, 1 shilling, 10 pence. In March, 1875, the Mayor - Mr Robert Tallon - wrote to the Hon The Colonial Secretary, stating that it had been reported that water for the Town could be obtained by gravitation from the Bundamba Lagoon, and he asked that the matter be investigated. Whether this was done or not, and with what result, I cannot learn. In May, 1875 , Mr William Highfields made a report on the proposed Brisbane River scheme, the cost of which he estimated at 15,500 pounds. From his report it appears that a Mr Brady - probably the late Mr Joseph Brady, who was engineer for the construction of the Enoggera Reservoir, and other works, for the supply of water to Brisbane - was engaged in connection with the Ipswich water supply proposals; but in what capacity and for how long I cannot ascertain.

In January, 1976, Mr Highfields addressed to the Under Secretary, Public Works Department, a report on the Brisbane River scheme for supplying Ipswich with water. This report was accompanied by plans, sections, etc, and the cost was Estimated at 21,545 pounds, 11 shillings, 8 pence. In March of the same year the late Mr C H Sigley reported to the Secretary for Public Works - the Hon Henry Edward King - on the details of the last mentioned scheme. His opinion was that the same mentioned in Mr Highfield's estimate was sufficient for completing the works. It appears from a letter Mr Highfields wrote to the Under Secretary. Public Works Department, in October of the same year, that steps had previously been taken to procure the machinery and to commence the works, as in his letter Mr Highfields criticised the pumping machinery mentioned in a letter from the Agent General in London - Mr A G Macalister - and made some suggestions thereon. On the 25th of May, 1878, the scheme appears to have been practically complete, as on that day Mr Highfields telegraphed to the Under Secretary, Public Works Department, stating that he had 'started the machinery yesterday at Ipswich waterworks satisfactorily, save a slight defect in the cylinder, which would be remedied by the following Tuesday'. The machinery was supplied by Messrs Appleby Bros., of London, at a cost of 2,864 pounds. It was shipped to Queensland by the 'Blenheim', which arrived in Brisbane on the 10th March, 1878, after a long passage, and was, I believe, erected under the superintendence of the late Mr D Rodgers, whose son is, I understand, the gentleman now occupying the position of district engineer in the Railway Department at Rockhampton.

The control and management of the water supply was handed over by the Government to the City Council on the 31st August, 1978. The cost of the works at that time was 31,000 pounds. Thirty years later - on the 31st December, 1900 - the total capital expended on the works had amounted to 66,696 pounds, 7 shillings, 7 pence.

About the year 1906 it became evident that a new reservoir was needed to meet the growing requirements of the municipality - which had attained the dignity of being proclaimed a city on 3rd December, 1904. The capacity of the old reservoir was 570,000 gallons, and it was decided to have a new one with a capacity of 2,383,000 gallons. The work of constructing the new reservoir was carried out be day labour under the supervision of Mr T Kirk, City Engineer (at present City Engineer to the Brisbane Municipality). Preliminaries began in Aril, 1906, but no actual commencement on the reservoir was made till the following month. An average of 50 hands was employed, and the work was completed by the end of the year. The new reservoir is in the exact site of the old one, which it has 'swallowed up', so to speak. It is oblong in shape, with semi-circular ends. In length it is 240 feet, and in breadth 115 feet. A dividing wall, half the height of the surrounding walls, is built across the middle, to enable one half of the reservoir to be cleaned, while the supply of water to the city is temporarily maintained from the other half. The estimated cost of the reservoir, in accordance with the plans approved by the Government, was 8,000 pounds and the work was carried out by Mr Kirk for about 700 pounds under that estimate. The official opening ceremony was performed by the Hon W Kidston, who was then Premier and Treasurer of Queensland, on the 27 th January, 1907.

Water Supply

When Henry Wade surveyed the site for the township of Limestone in 1842, he provided a site for the town reservoir. The reservoir was to consist of an earth dam across a gully that traversed what is now Brisbane Street. The reservoir was never built.

The first 'water supply' service comprised carting of barrelled water from the Bremer River or local springs to residents by privateers. The water was regularly of indifferent quality and residents often criticised it as being unwholesome and barely drinkable.

Ipswich was declared a municipality in 1860 and within months of the election of the first town council the Mayor of Ipswich, Mr John Murphy, declared that "...the corporation have directed that a preliminary survey to test the practicability, and ascertain the approximate expense, of bringing water from the Brisbane River for the supply of the town, shall be immediately proceeded with." A local surveyor, William Yates, prepared details of a suitable scheme, but with little access to the funds necessary, the council took an interim step and 'bricked and slabbed' a water tank in the town water reserve bordered by Limestone, South, Nicholas and Ellenborough Streets, where a natural spring of good water existed. A water pump was installed sometime later (probably in 1861) and the first public water supply system was created.

In 1863, Council had a celebrated civil engineer, Thomas Oldham (who was working on the Enoggera Dam supply for Brisbane), review the Yates scheme. Oldham found that the cost of the scheme was as yet out of the reach of Council and again it was decided not to proceed with the scheme.

By 1865, there was pressure mounting on the State Government to assist Ipswich and a number of other councils to provide permanent reticulated water supplies to their residents. The State commissioned Joseph Brady (another celebrated civil engineer) to investigate how demands could best be satisfied. Brady's assistant, William Highfield, visited Ipswich in March of that year and investigated the possibility of supply from the Brisbane River and the Bremer, deciding that the Brisbane was undoubtedly to be favoured. Although it would take until 1878 before a permanent water supply to Ipswich was established from the Brisbane River at Kholo, this was still thirteen years before the Mt Crosby pumping station was commissioned for Brisbane. Ipswich was then the first council in Queensland to take over a government-built water supply scheme. For comparison, the original water rate was set at 10 per cent of the rental value of a private property and 5 per cent of the rental value for commercial premises.

In 1892, major improvements were completed to the system including new, larger pumps, a new intake shaft and duplication of the delivery mains to Ipswich. However, the facility was continually plagued with floods. July 1889 had seen flood waters so high they reached the engine house floor. In 1890, a flood reached almost three metres above the floor and again in 1893, the engine house was flooded. The original pumping station was finally closed down and transferred to a higher nearby site in 1894.

Ipswich's second pumping station closed in 1922 because its pumps had become aged and inadequate and council agreed to a supply from the newly commissioned water works of the Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board at Mt Crosby. In an effort to prevent being 'swallowed up' by the Board, the Council opted for a bulk supply of treated water, piped to the City over the Mt Crosby Weir near the Mt Crosby pumping station.

In January 1927, a major flood of the Brisbane River destroyed the pipe crossing and the end of the Mt Crosby Weir built only one year earlier. Water deliveries to Ipswich ceased for two days while a temporary pipe was established before being permanently replaced. The weir was rebuilt bigger and stronger, and having survived subsequent major floods is still in service today.

The site of the Kholo water works was largely ignored until 1988 when the northern part of the water reserve was redeveloped as municipal botanic gardens.

Sewerage

The sewering of the City of Ipswich commenced in 1937, beginning with the City centre and the nearby areas. These early sewered areas were served by gravity sewer mains, pump stations and rising mains delivering sewage to the Tivoli Wastewater Centre. Since that time, sewerage has been extended throughout the entire City of Ipswich. The Tivoli Wastewater Centre was designed to a capacity of 23,000 equivalent persons (EP) and commissioned around 1940. It was further augmented in the 1960's to 50,000 EP.

The Rosewood Wastewater Centre was commissioned in 1972 to capacity of 1,800 EP. Recently, artificial wetlands have been incorporated in the process for effluent polishing.

The Goodna Wastewater Centre was commissioned in 1974 with an initial design capacity of 25,000 EP. It was augmented to 50,000 EP capacity in 1986. The catchment served by this plant has experienced significant growth over recent years, particularly along the Brisbane-Ipswich development corridor.

In 1974 the Carole Part Wastewater Centre was also constructed to treat effluent from the newly developed Carole Park industrial area and adjacent residential areas. The plant had an initial capacity of 6,000 EP and was augmented to 12,000 EP in 1982. The last major augmentation was undertaken in 1993 to take plant capacity to 26,600 EP.

The Bundamba Wastewater Centre was designed to a capacity of 50,000 EP and was commissioned in 1981.

Last Updated 1 Jul 2008 |

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