Harvesting projects
Project summaries
Audits conducted by Auburn Council for its Water Savings Action Plan identified that 68% of water losses at Wyatt Park, including the Auburn Swim Centre, were due to leaks. This project identified where the leaks were and repaired them to save up to 42.3 million litres of water a year. Rainwater tanks were also installed at the Swim Centre to collect and reuse water. Future stages will see the establishment of a comprehensive water harvesting system for the whole Wyatt Park site.
A tank has been installed to collect rainwater from four tennis courts and two amenity buildings which is saving Baulkham Hills Shire Council 4 million litres of drinking water a year. The tank at Kenthurst Park stores water to irrigate the sports fields. Later stages will involve installing sub-soil drainage on the playing fields, and connecting to the tank to extend the water catchment and further boost supplies.
Blacktown City Council has installed rainwater tanks at its four public swimming pools to harvest water for backwashing and flushing toilets. Two other tanks have also been installed at Rooty Hill Depot and Blacktown Olympic Park to store water to use in the wash-bays and toilets. The project included an education element to promote the savings to patrons at Blacktown Leisure Centre, Blacktown Aquatic Centre, Riverstone and Mount Druitt Pools and is saving 605,000 litres of water a year.
Stormwater is harvested and reused for rural fire fighting and watering playing fields in this project by Campbelltown City Council. The potential for the project was identified during construction of a detention basin at Kooringa Reserve, when groundwater flows were intercepted by the works. A pump was installed downstream of the detention basin, capturing the water and sending it to a 100,000 litre storage tank. It is also used to water the neighbouring playing fields and carted via water tankers for use across the City. The project is saving 3.7 million litres of drinking water a year.
The pipe system in Centennial Park has been upgraded to bring pond water to the rose garden, toilets and equestrian jumping arenas, eliminating the need for potable supply. The project also connects 10 of the older public toilets to the pond water system, saving an estimated 3 million litres of water a year. The ponds system, once known as Lachlan Swamps, was Sydney's original water supply and holds up to 10 megalitres of water a year. They are fed by stormwater run-off from Paddington, Woollahra, Bondi, Waverly and Randwick and act as a detention basin as well as having a role in flood mitigation. The levels are regulated by bore water in dry periods to protect wetland habitat.
This project will deliver sustainable water services to Gordon and Killara golf courses through a combination of stormwater harvesting and sewer mining technologies. Through a collaborative partnership, both golf courses will manage their combined water supply options, limited by stormwater catchments, on-site storage and available sewerage flows and will invest in demand management to maximise the available use of water to ensure the long term sustainability of each site. Complementing the on-ground works, this project will provide a model for others to deliver water-sensitive planning, design and practise. The predicted annual water demand across both courses is 141 million litres of which more than 98% will be sourced from non-potable supply. The project will save an estimated 125 million litres of water a year.
An underground storage tank has been built at Lane Cove Golf Course to store harvested stormwater to use on the greens, tees and fairways and is saving an estimated 5.3 million litres of water a year. This project is saving 80% of the potable water currently being used to water the course by capturing stormwater as it flows into nearby Gore Creek. It involved installing the underground concrete tank at the highest point of the course, building a sump to collect water from the creek and installing pumps and pipelines to deliver the harvested water to the existing irrigation network. The environmental health of the creek is maintained by tapping into the stormwater source only when levels rise above the natural flow after rain.
Stormwater will be harvested from Buckle Reserve to water the sports field used by the Menai Hawks Junior Soccer Club. The club will be partnering with Sutherland Shire Council to install a concrete storage tank, and a filtering and UV steriliser to treat the water so that it can be used on the fields. A second tank will also be installed underground to collect water from the clubhouse. This project will save an estimated 4.4 million litres of water a year.
This project is saving potable water by reusing stormwater to irrigate Balmoral Oval, Balmoral Foreshore Reserve and Hunter Park. Installation of water tanks, treatment facilities and improvements to existing drainage work has been undertaken to harvest, treat and reuse stormwater from the related sub-catchment areas. Pipe connections and monitoring devices have been put in place to regulate the irrigation. This project is saving an estimated 15.3 million litres of water a year.
Two dams have been built at Northbridge Golf Club to provide a sustainable water supply and storage facility for the course and neighbouring Northbridge Oval. The first dam was built in the depression on one of the fairways and acts as a temporary detention pond for stormwater after rain. Water is pumped from there to the second storage dam and is used to water the course. The project has made the club self sufficient in its water needs and is saving 92.3 million litres of water a year.
By capturing stormwater run-off from the Warringah Expressway and the surrounding urban catchment, North Sydney Council and Cammeray Golf Club are saving an estimated 22 million litres of water a year. This partnership project involved building a storage facility at Cammeray Golf Course where the water is treated before being used for irrigation of the golf course and Cammeray Oval soccer field next door. The pipeline has also been extended to pump water to other parks in the North Sydney Council area, including St Leonards Park, Primrose Park, Tunks Park and Forsyth Park.
Stormwater runoff from the Warringah Expressway is being captured in a massive reuse program that will see life returned to numerous playing fields and parks in North Sydney. The water is being collected from a stormwater drain that empties to Willoughby Bay via the Cammeray Golf Course. A gross pollutant trap has been installed to filter the stormwater. An open dam has also been built to capture runoff from the Warringah Expressway and surrounding urban areas, and storage tanks and pipework to transport and store water for nine parks and playing fields. This project is saving an estimated 40.6 million litres of drinking water a year.
A dam to store 40 million litres of water has been built at Roseville Golf Course which provides an alternative water supply for tees, greens and fairways. Roseville Golf Club worked with Ku-ring-gai Council to investigate water supply options for the club and the playing fields on neighbouring Roseville Oval and improve water quality in Moore's Creek. The project is saving 40 million litres of drinking water a year.
Waterless urinals have been installed at Stockland Wetherill Park shopping centre as part of a multi-layered approach to save 11.9 million litres of water a year. The project also harvests rainwater from the roof to use in the cooling towers and tracks water usage and savings with the installation of a comprehensive sub metering management package.
Stormwater is being harvested from the roof of Enerserve's Homebush Park Business Centre site and reused on neighbouring Mason Park in an innovative project bringing together Strathfield Council and EnergyAustralia. The water is treated and reused on the playing fields at Mason Park, saving an estimated 4.8 million litres of drinking water a year. The project has the added benefit of protecting the nearby saltmarsh from freshwater inundation.
The King's School at North Parramatta will harvest stormwater from its roofs and grounds and install water efficient fittings in its amenity blocks. This project will provide an alternative water supply to irrigate gardens and playing fields and cut the school's water use by half. The efficient fittings include waterless urinals, AAA rated showerheads, toilets and taps. The project will save an estimated 44.1 million litres of drinking water a year.
State of the art water efficient sub-soil irrigation technology has been installed at Greenway Park in Cherrybrook under this Hornsby Council project to save drinking water. The water saving program at the park also included a stormwater harvesting and storage scheme which provides an alternative water supply for irrigation. The extra water has improved the quality of the playing fields and, by softening the surface, will reduce the risk of sport-related injuries. This project is saving 17.8 million litres of drinking water a year.
This project was a collaboration between Hornsby Shire Council and Asquith Bowling and Recreation Club, Panthers West Epping Bowling Club and North Epping Bowling and Community Club. At each club, stormwater is now captured and stored on site, then treated and used to irrigate bowling greens. The water is also used to irrigate gardens and grounds and (in Stage 2) for flushing club toilets. This project is saving 11.4 million litres of water a year.
NSW Parliament House will become a showpiece for storm-water harvesting and recycling initiatives under a new project that uses historic disused rail tunnels under Macquarie Street. The project involves harvesting water from the roofs of Parliament House, Sydney Hospital and the State Library into St James Lake, an underground lake in the old rail tunnels under Macquarie Street. From the underground lake it will be recycled for use in Parliament House for air conditioning, toilet flushing, watering gardens and testing the fire system. The project will save 17.9 million litres of drinking water a year.
The University of NSW has built a treatment plant to enable bore water from the Botany aquifer to be used in the air-conditioning system, toilets and laboratories at the Kensington campus. The project builds on the University's existing use of the Botany aquifer bore water for irrigation by boosting the water quality to use more of the water indoors. The aquifer is being replenished with stormwater harvested from the roofs of the university buildings and percolated back through a filtering system. The project was identified in the university's Water Savings Action Plan and is saving an estimated 100.5 million litres of drinking water a year.
A rainwater tank has been installed at Warringah Aquatic Centre pools which harvests 1.1 million litres of water a year. The tank supplies backwash water for the pools and has the added benefit of showcasing the potential of rainwater harvesting to the Centre's 370,000 visitors a year. Backwashing is a major water-intensive procedure for cleaning pool filters and the use of rainwater demonstrates its potential across the aquatic recreation industry.
Stormwater flowing into Bronte Gully is captured, treated and reused for watering Bronte Park and bush regeneration sites. This is harvested each year and used instead of drinking water to irrigate Bronte Park and bushland maintained by the volunteer Bronte Gully Bushcare Group. Following detailed studies into water supply options at the popular park, Waverley Council shelved earlier plans for a groundwater project at the site and selected the stormwater option because it delivers equal water savings and improved environmental benefits. The project involved building a diversion weir to collect the stormwater from Bronte Gully. It is treated using UV technology, stored in an underground tank and pumped via new piping to where it is needed for irrigation. The project is saving 15.4 million litres of water a year.
This project will incorporate major water savings in the proposed redevelopment of Chatswood Civic Place by establishing a showcase Integrated Water Cycle Management system. Stormwater will be captured for reuse at Chatswood Chase, two sporting ovals and the library at Civic Place. The project will save an estimated 83 million litres of drinking water a year and demonstrate the latest water-efficient technologies in a public setting. It will provide a water supply for the shopping centre's cooling towers and local playing fields and help manage stormwater flows to nearby Scotts Creek. It also includes a significant public education component.
Woollahra Municipal Council has installed subsurface irrigation at Christison Park at Vaucluse to improve water efficiency. The new system waters plants at their roots to maximise efficiency and reduce losses from runoff and evaporation. The project also involved a stormwater harvesting component in which rainwater is harvested from the catchment, pumped to storage tanks at the park, treated and used for irrigation. The project is saving 2 million litres of drinking water a year.
Page last updated: 31 January 2012
