Bridport water upgrade confirmed
TasWater’s Robbie Lovegrove at the Bridport site where a $6million upgrade will take place to deal with the town’s water security issues.
July 30, 2025
Bridport water upgrade confirmed
By Rachel Williams
A planned water pipeline from Scottsdale to Bridport has been flushed in favour of a new deal between TasWater and Tas Irrigation that will secure the seaside town’s water supply.
TasWater has revealed that Tas Irrigation will release water into the Brid River from the Camden Dam to service Bridport, instead of progressing with a $20 million pipe to connect the two major North East towns.
The plan by TasWater also includes a $6m upgrade to Bridport’s treatment plant as well as a $14.8 million upgrade to the Scottsdale sewage treatment plant to reduce the release of nutrients and pathogens to the local waterway.
TasWater Sustainable Infrastructure Services General Manager Matt Derbyshire said that the new plan would save tens of millions of dollars and deliver improved outcomes.
Mr Derbyshire said it would ensure the best quality drinking water and add further capacity to cater for future growth in the popular tourist town.
“As well as delivering on our commitment to make sure residents and business in Bridport can rely on their water supply, keeping water in the river will improve the health of the ecosystems,” he said.
“The local TasWater operators have worked hard in recent years to maximise the water treatment plant’s output, which has resulted in several consecutive summers without the need for water restrictions while they have been in place elsewhere in Tasmania,” he said.
“Our upgrades to the local sewage treatment plant have improved treatment, and we have seen really strong results in reducing odour and improving the plant’s environmental performance.”
Dorset Mayor Rhys Beattie welcomed the news, saying it was a practical outcome.
“It is a really big positive for Bridport because we hear a lot about the shortfalls in water security and treatment,” Cr Beattie said.
“With the water treatment plant being potentially one of the worst in the State, it is good to get it future proofed.”
“Let’s hope the Bridport sewerage treatment plant is on the short list for more work in the future.”
TasWater and the State Government has come under fire over the last week after the release of its Price and Service Plan 5 proposal.
Fixed charges are proposed to reduce from 84 per cent to 67 per cent but the variable portion of the bill will rise from 16 per cent to 33 per cent.
TasWater argues that those who use less will pay less.
The proposal is aimed at dealing with the State’s ageing water and sewerage infrastructure, with a $1.7 billion investment over four years funded by an annual 8.8 per cent increase.
Cr Beattie said that the reality was that only nine per cent of water infrastructure in Tasmania was up to standard.
“If we want to fix it, which we hear a lot, then obviously someone has to cover the cost and unfortunately it is the user at the end of the day,” Cr Beattie said.
“We are seeing a rapid expiry of infrastructure that has been pushed down the road for a long time and now is the time to spend money to future proof and bring it up to standard.
“The sooner the better especially with longer dry periods, the Bridport water surety is a must.”
The original pipeline plan came about due to the large amount of available water in Scottsdale, now that Simplot is no longer there to use it.
“Scottsdale has two to three times the water we need,” Cr Beattie said.
“Now that the pipeline is not going
ahead there are options for bulk data storage and AI warehouses that use
a lot of water for cooling so there is opportunity for water hungry industry
in Scottsdale that we can explore,”
he said.