Brisbane City Council has initiated a unique water recycling program that is the first of its kind in Queensland.Brisbane Water, a business unit of Council has invested $18.3 million in the construction of a sophisticated dual membrane treatment plant to recycle effluent from its Luggage Point Wastewater Treatment Plant.
BP Amoco has entered into a 20 year agreement to buy the reclaimed wastewater from the Luggage Point treatment Plant, to use it at its Bulwer Island oil refinery located at the mouth of the Brisbane River. The Bulwer Island refinery has tripled its industrial water usage as a result of its $500 million Queensland Clean Fuels Project to produce world class fuels.
Brisbane Water’s Divisional Manager, Howard Lacy, said the recycled water provided by Council is used for cooling tower make up, boiler feedwater and other processes to achieve a cleaner fuel.
“Council’s new water recycling plant uses micro filtration and reverse osmosis technologies to treat up to 14 megalitres per day of secondary effluent to a standard suitable for industrial use,” he said. “The process operates continuously to meet the varying water demands from BP and is operated in conjunction with the main sewage treatment plant. Recycled waste water supplied to BP means Council is conserving this quantity from its water supply, and at the same time, preventing up to eight tonnes of nitrogen a year from entering and polluting Moreton Bay.”
Nitrogen promote algae growth which in turn kills seagrass, an essential food for sea life such as dugongs, turtles and fish.
The water recycling project received $3.5 million from the Queensland Government, and a further $400,000 from the Clean Seas Program through the Commonwealth Government’s Natural Heritage Trust. Council has funded the remainder of the $18.3 million project.It is expected to be financially viable, with the project easily paying for itself in the life of the 20 year contract with BP Amoco.
“As well as conserving up to 14 megalitres of Brisbane’s water each day, the project is one of several initiatives aimed at deferring the construction of a new dam,” Howard Lacy said.
Mark Pascoe, Council’s Manager of Water and Sewerage said that Council is committed to sustainable management of Brisbane’s water reserves through water reuse policy and implementation in both commercial and domestic environs.
For further information, contact Howard Lacy, telephone (07) 3403 3200.
