Potable Water for PNG Defence Base

Defence facilities are often located in extremely remote regions for safety and security reasons, creating unique challenges for essential services such as potable water supply. At one Department of Defence (DoD) field training site, the existing water treatment plant (WTP) was no longer able to meet potable water standards in accordance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). With no surface water available, the site relied solely on bore water containing dissolved iron concentrations well above ADWG limits. The harsh desert climate, with high summer temperatures and low overnight winter temperatures, further impacted system performance, reliability, and sustainability.

This end‑of‑life water infrastructure renewal project required a new chlorination dosing system designed for an existing 500kL concrete water tower. As the asset deteriorated, the existing disinfection and dosing equipment could no longer reliably maintain stable chlorine levels, increasing the risk of non‑compliance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). Without renewal, the client faced escalating compliance risk, reduced system reliability and sustainability concerns due to inefficiencies in chemical use, energy consumption and asset performance.

Our client was experiencing significant operational challenges due to turbidity spikes in river water extraction during heavy rainfall events. The existing water treatment plant (WTP) was unable to operate under high turbidity conditions, resulting in frequent shutdowns that disrupted site operations. These shutdowns increased operational costs, reduced productivity, and posed compliance and sustainability risks by limiting access to reliable, treated water during critical periods.

The client, a civil construction company delivering works for the Australia Singapore Military Training Initiative (ASMTI), required a reliable potable water solution for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The ADF needed a consistent supply of potable water that could be safely stored and maintained within specification. Without an onsite solution, the ADF would incur significant ongoing costs transporting potable water to site, while also increasing safety risks associated with vehicle movements during training exercises. MAK Water was selected to design and manufacture a reliable solution to treat the source water, which required additional disinfection. Our team worked closely with the client to design a fit for purpose solution that complies with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG).

The client required an upgrade to the existing washbay system at Royal Military College, Duntroon (RMC-D) in the ACT. The previous system was not adequately treating heavy and light vehicle washbay water. This resulted in a film forming on vehicles, overdosing of flocculant carrying over into the process, and oil being carried through the system. These issues affected operational efficiency, increased rewash time, raised chemical consumption costs, and risked non‑compliance with environmental and Defence standards.

An industrial client in Queensland generates oily wastewater with variable hydrocarbon loading and needed to meet strict local council and regulatory discharge limits. Although conventional Oil Water Separators (OWS) efficiently eliminate free-floating oil, compliance is usually monitored through periodic grab sampling. This method risks exceeding regulatory limits between samples, resulting in potential environmental violations, fines and increased discharge or disposal costs. MAK Water was engaged to design and deliver a treatment solution to ensure that the discharge met local council limits at all times.