An old Hunter water reservoir has been nationally recognised for its engineering significance, at a ceremony by Engineers Australia.
The Walka Water Supply Scheme provided Australia’s first filtered water in 1885, drawing water from the Hunter river near Maitland.
Local heritage engineering expert Bill Jordan said the Walka Scheme was pioneering in a number of ways.
“Perhaps its most significant achievement was how water was protected from contamination from the source to the tap. Once drawn from the Hunter River, the water was enclosed in pipes and stored in roofed reservoirs all the way through the system, providing protection from disease-causing pollution that even some modern Australian schemes can’t achieve,” he said.
