DELTAwater saves prison maintenance $1 million

The head maintenance plumber at a Queensland prison says the water treatment technology of 100% Australian company DELTAwater Solutions paid for itself within six months.

Ross Kerle of Maryborough Correctional Centre says his team used to spend hours each week maintaining pipes corroded by water rich in minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

They fitted the DELTA technology to the 100mm feed that carries water supply to the prison and it’s a decision that’s paid off, with scale and corrosion in pipes now virtually non-existent.

Before installing the DELTA, the correctional centre’s maintenance staff constantly fixed pitted pipes and blocked valves in the 500-bed centre’s water supply system. They received daily phone calls from the prison’s kitchen when the water damaged elements on the fleet of big Rational Combi Ovens.

“The DELTA technology has reduced our maintenance something vicious and the cost savings are astronomical dollar-wise,” Ross says.

“Take the kitchen; we weren’t even getting two weeks out of some filters and now, after the installation of our DELTA, we’re getting four or five months out of them. Over a 10-year period we’d be heading towards a million dollars saved in maintenance.”

Ross says his team also used to spend hours weekly flushing sludge from the heat exchanges of vacuum pumps controlling the centre’s sewerage system. Now, the exchanges are basically spotless and maintenance free.

The DELTA technology also comes up trumps in the centre’s dental clinic, making its reverse osmosis machine much more efficient. And it’s not just the plumbers who are happy. Ross reckons the prisoners have stopped complaining about water quality too.

• To find out more, contact one of our water quality professionals at DELTAwater solutions or speak to your local pumps and irrigation agent.