Councils across the nation are facing the challenge of doing more with less water and finding reliable and safe alternative sources of water. Located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, Kogarah Council is the first Local Government in the Sydney metropolitan area to sign a sewer mining agreement with Sydney Water for water reclamation. The agreement allows Kogarah to pump sewerage out of the Sydney Water sewer system, treat it in a custom designed water treatment plant and deliver the recycled water for the irrigation of Council’s parks and playing fields.
As part of the project, Council built the Beverley Park Water Reclamation Plant to achieve the National Water Quality Management Standard. This simply means that the quality of reclaimed water is guaranteed to be safe for its intended use. This project aims to reclaim up to 750,000 litres of wastewater every day during peak summer demand. The wastewater will be treated, then reused for irrigation at all of Council’s parks and ovals.
Council’s Manager Catchment and Waterways, Isabelle Ghetti, said the plant will be fully operational in January 2008.
“We then expect to reduce potable water use in Kogarah by as much as 160 megalitres every year,” she said.
The Beverley Park Water Reclamation Plant project is a key component of Kogarah Council’s Total Water Cycle Management Strategy, which focuses on managing water, wastewater and stormwater using a holistic approach.
It was this project that originally identified water reclamation as a sustainable water management option for Kogarah Council.
Benefits of the Beverley Park Water Reclamation Plant project include:
- the ability to keep parks, sporting fields and other open spaces green and in good playing condition
- protecting parks and sporting fields from the impact of future water restrictions, as reclaimed water is not subjected to potable water restrictions
- improved health of local bays as a result of less effluent discharge
- reduced consumption of our precious drinking water
- the ability to reuse valuable nutrients that are present in sewage
- sustained and/or increased jobs at the Golf Club and Kogarah Council
- increased community awareness and knowledge of water efficiency and reuse.
For further information contact Violeta Becvarovski at Kogarah’s Department of Assets and Services, on (02) 9330 9448.
