Upgrade of an Iseki System in Queensland

Over the last year we have been hired to upgrade an iseki system at Thargomindah that had been causing the local council a lot of pain, time and cost over the years.
We have just seen this report on the internet from a council meeting which is a pretty nice pat on the back.
It is interesting that they think their operational cost will come down to $70-100k per year. We think it will come down to $10k per year based on the size.

REPORT For the past 8 years Council has utilised the services of Hepburn and Thorpe to assist with the maintenance and operation of the Thargomindah sewerage pumping station and for maintenance and servicing of the Iseki Vacuum System. Since its construction there have been ongoing problems with all aspect of the operations of the system, especially with the Iseki valves. Council has undertaken the repair of many of the Iseki valves with mixed success and last year conducted trials with FloVac valves. These trials proved very successful and the FloVac valves have proved to be very reliable. Hepburn and Thorpe have now ceased to trade and subsequently for the past 12 months Council have been utilising the services of FloVac Systems to assist with sewerage operations and maintenance. FloVac has over 25 years’ experience in vacuum sewerage systems both in Australia and overseas. The Company is Australian owned and designs vacuum reticulation networks, manufactures associated valves, pits and monitoring systems and installs, operates and maintains vacuum systems. The Company has also been responsible for re-engineering and retrofitting other poorly- performing vacuum systems in Australia (including Iseki Vacuum Systems). Tweed Shire and Bundaberg Regional Councils have used FloVac to improve operations of their vacuum sewer systems and Council officers have verified that the Company is very knowledgeable about this type of system. Tweed Shire has changed over its system from Iseki valves to FloVac valves and reports much reduced operating costs. FloVac have established a reputation as a reliable and experienced designer and operator of vacuum sewer systems and they offer on-going operational support for the continued rehabilitation of the Thargomindah sewerage system.

Sewerage Upgrade and Programed Capital Works On average, Council has spent approximately $203,778 per annum over the past 3 years on repairs and maintenance on the sewerage system. These costs have been largely attributable to failure of the Iseki Vacuum System resulting in damage to pumps and the high cost of labour (including penalty rates) to rectify the system faults. Council officers have made extensive enquiries with other shires operating vacuum sewerage systems and advice received indicate that Council’s sewerage operating and maintenance cost should realistically be in the order of $70,000 to $100,000 per annum; or 50% of the current average cost.