Our water responsibilities
We’re working to ensure a secure supply of high quality drinking water now and into the future.
Securing future water supply
Rous is implementing the Future Water Project to ensure the Northern Rivers has a secure and resilient water supply that will meet the community’s needs until at least 2060.
Regional water supply
Rous supplies water to councils across the Northern Rivers including Ballina Shire, Byron Shire, Richmond Valley and Lismore City. These councils then on-sell this water to residents.
Managing water quality
Rous take a multiple barrier approach to protecting our water quality. That involves identifying and managing risks to water quality in catchments, water storage areas, pumping stations, and pipelines. Potential sources of contamination to the water supply, or ‘water quality risks’, include:
- catchment pollutants
- algae, water weeds, eutrophication and stratification in water storage
- environmental contamination in the distribution system (birds or other animals getting into reservoirs)
- backflow (cross-connection).
Rous employs a range of measures to mitigate these risks, such as using bird proofing mesh on reservoirs, extensive testing of water quality and regular inspections and maintenance.
Water quality reports
Your water is regularly tested for more than 70 physical, chemical, microbiological and radiological parameters.
