Recovery, Reuse and Recycling wastewater and stormwater are high on the agenda to improve the quality of Perth’s coastal waters. With an injection of $3m, the Commonwealth Government’s Clean Seas Program is supporting a range of integrated projects in Western Australia’s water recovery and reuse program.
“These projects demonstrate effluent reuse while reducing pressure on limited ground water resources,” said Ed Hauck, Program Manager Water Allocation Policy of the Western Australian Water and Rivers Commission.
One Clean Seas project focuses on the landscaped roadway into Perth’s International Airport, which is currently irrigated with groundwater. As an alternative, the West Australian Water and Rivers Commission, Westralia Airports Corporation and Joe White Maltings Ltd are exploring the irrigation potential of treated effluent from the maltings process.
The project showcases techniques that minimise industrial wastewater treatment costs while conserving groundwater resources.
Meanwhile in Kwinana, water extraction is approaching the aquifer’s capacity. In response, authorities are investigating the feasibility of recharging local aquifers with treated wastewater from industrial plants. Clean Seas funding will be used to construct infiltration ponds and recovery technology.
Perth’s growing population is adding to the pressures on its waterways. Byford is a small town on Perth’s rapidly expanding urban fringe. It is in an environmentally sensitive area at the headwaters of the Serpentine River and Peel-Harvey Estuary. The Estuary’s wetlands are internationally recognised under the Ramsar Convention.
A new, 800 lot residential development in Byford will include construction of an innovative stormwater management system. The Commonwealth’s Urban Stormwater Initiative has contributed $276,000 towards the project. This will be Perth’s first residential subdivision where water sensitive design is implemented at the property, street and neighbourhood level.
Grassed swale drains, artificial creeks, and vegetated wetlands will be integrated into landscaped stormwater corridors. The stormwater recycling system will feature a cascade to aerate the water.
The recycling scheme will reduce nutrient loads entering waterways and increase the attractiveness of the streetscape and recreational areas.
Combining individual treatment features into a recycling system is a significant design breakthrough.
The developers, Caversham Pty Ltd, in partnership with the Shire of Serpentine-Jarahdale, will promote the project’s stormwater management processes as an example for other regions across Australia.
