Whyalla in South Australia is located in a semi arid region. It relies solely on water pumped by pipeline, some 400 kilometres from the Murray River. Due to the City’s heavy reliance on this system, Council has introduced various initiatives to reduce its dependency on this precious resource.
Whyalla’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery System (ASR) is expected to capture over 430 ML of urban stormwater runoff, which would otherwise be discharged into Spencer Gulf. The water will be stored within the aquifer and re used to irrigate the majority of the City’s open spaces.
The ASR is believed to be the first time this technology has been used with a saline aquifer in a semi arid region and a first for South Australia.
“Extensive research was undertaken by Whyalla Council, Australian Water Environments and SA Water,” said Council’s Research Officer, Ann Ryan.“This included an investigation of a range of pond sizes to determine the best size to achieve maximum detention without eliminating through flow entirely.”
It is expected along with other things, that the ASR will greatly reduce the amount of urban stormwater runoff discharged to mudflats, mangroves and seagrass areas, as well as reduce the amount of water drawn from the Murray River.
“As a result of the ASR we’re also hoping to establish a stormwater harvesting scheme that can be extended in the future to collect all of Whyalla’s stormwater for reuse,” Ann Ryan said.
For further information, contact Ann Ryan on (08) 8640 3444.
