Parkes’ new treatment plants have been recognised for not one but two Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards.
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The annual awards, hosted in Orange on November 9-11 by the Keep Australia Beautiful foundation, celebrate the sustainability achievements of rural and regional communities across Australia.
Parkes was presented with the Community Spirit and Inclusion Award for the Water and Sewage Treatment Plant community open days, as well as the Renewable Energy Award for the integration of solar systems at the new facilities.
Parkes Shire mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said the energy cost of providing clean and safe water and wastewater treatment is often unrecognised.
Parkes Shire Council has installed solar at its $100 million water and sewerage treatment plants to help fuel the cost of pumping water over 30 kilometres.
“By embedding sustainable practices into everyday operations, council is safeguarding the security of our water supply and ensuring our major infrastructure is energy efficient, environmentally friendly and cost effective,” he said.
The new Water Treatment Plant boasts a 107kW solar PV system to offset power consumption, and a further 298kW was installed at the Sewage Treatment Plant and the Advanced Water Plant.
The combined 405kW solar systems saw a saving of $88,866 on grid electricity in the first year of operation, and the equivalent carbon emission reductions of taking 155 cars off the road.
“Implementing sustainable systems creates environmental, social and economic benefits, and the positive legacy will be felt well into the future,” Cr Keith said.
Parkes Shire Deputy Mayor, Cr Barbara Newton attended the awards on behalf of council.
“Our community is at the front and centre of all our planning, which is why we wanted to showcase the new facilities to the residents in the series of community open days,” she said.
The community open days were held at the Water Treatment Plant, Sewage Treatment Plant, and Advanced Water Recycling Facility in March and April this year.
The open days gave residents the opportunity to visit the new facilities and learn about treatment processes and the infrastructure's sustainable features. Councillors and volunteers from SES and Parkes Rotary also donated their time to make the open days a success.
Because more than 500 residents participated in the initial open day in March, the April open day was expanded to include “encore” tours of the Sewage Treatment Plant.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been presented with the Community Spirit and Inclusion Award, as it reflects the tremendous dedication and teamwork displayed across council's staff,” Cr Newton said.
“The open days were undertaken on top of staff's core duties, which included regular service provision and on-going construction, and we thank all staff who put in extra effort to make the events such a huge success.”