Discharge of water to the environment from potable water infrastructure

Abstract

Critical matters for the testing,commissioning and long-term operation of bulk water pipelines and related infrastructure are the obligations(both statutory and social) associated with planned and unplanned discharges of water into the environment. Planning for these discharges requires not only short-term considerations for individual events, but longer term considerations for discharging water during the lifetime of the infrastructure. In 2008, the Queensland Bulk Water Transport Authority (LinkWater) undertook a review of the compliance issues associated with the discharge of water from its infrastructure into the environment. Two significant issues identified included potential liability under common law and the requirement to secure land for the purposes of draining water from priority discharge locations. This paper sets out the issues which were examined by LinkWater and describes some of the actions taken to satisfy the authority's legal obligations.