Recycling projects
AquaNet Sydney Pty Ltd
The Rosehill-Camellia Recycled Water Scheme Project
Funding: $225,384
AquaNet Sydney Pty Ltd will install the necessary internal pipework to enable project participants to access and use recycled water provided by the Rosehill-Camellia Recycled Water distribution pipeline. The Scheme will provide high quality recycled water to major industrial customers and parks in Western Sydney and reduce the demand on Sydney's drinking water supply. Secondary treated effuluent from the Liverpool to Ashfield Pipeline will be extracted and treated by ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis at the new recycled water plant to a high quality suitable to irrigation, use in cooling towers, as manufacturing water and boiler feed. This project will save an estimated 90.2 million litres of water a year.
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A new technology to treat wastewater from the electroplating Industry has been introduced at Astor Metal Finishes Villawood factory. The company is pioneering the new Chemtech Recovery System to recycle wastewater. The technology uses filtration, de-ionisation and ultra violet treatment, saving 30.7 million litres of water per year. The installation of the new equipment, and operational testing under full commercial conditions, is an Australian first for the technology. If proved to be commercially viable, the Chemtech Recovery System has the potential to transform the capacity of the industry to save and recycle most of the water it uses.
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Camden Council is taking advantage of a new recycled water pipeline in South Camden. This project tapped into Sydney Water's new Recycled Water pipeline which runs alongside the Ron Dine and Hayter Reserves, to source irrigation water for two of its highest using parks. New water-efficient sub-surface irrigation systems were installed, improving water efficiency and providing the Council with an opportunity to trial and monitor their effectiveness on playing fields and other public open space. The funding covered the cost difference between the irrigation systems originally planned for the two Reserves and the new, sub-surface ones using the recycled water. The project is saving 12.9 million litres of drinking water a year.
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The City of Canada Bay will tap into its sewers to save 139 million litres of drinking water a year and provide a permanent alternative supply. A water treatment plant will be built within Cintra Park at Gipps St, Concord, and will source, treat and supply enough water from the sewer to irrigate three parks, four ovals and two golf courses. The treated water will be stored in an underground storage facility built from old tyres and be pumped to Concord Oval, Cintra Park, Massey Park Golf Course, Barnwell Park Golf Course, Edwards Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Rothwell Oval, Goddard Oval and St Lukes Oval through a network of new pipes.
This large-scale industrial water recycling plant at Kurnell will save 2,124 million litres of drinking water a year by diverting millions of litres of sewage effluent to local industry. The privately operated recycling plant will divert sewage effluent from the Cronulla sewerage treatment works to industries located on the Kurnell peninsula. It will be built and operated by the United Utilities Australia and Burns & Roe Worley consortium and produce recycled water at a cheaper rate than drinking water.
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The CSR Fibre Cement Factory in Wetherill Park has been fitted with new water storage tanks and cleaning facilities to collect treat and recycle wastewater used in the manufacturing process. The equipment is specifically designed to cope with the abrasive materials used in cement manufacture, particularly the fine crystalline silica which is the key raw material. With 24-hour-a-day operations, the water saving technology is reducing potable water use by almost half and recycling up to 87% of wastewater. CSR worked with water management specialists Nalco and AGL Energy Services to maximise both water and energy efficiency. Steam from the boilers is now reused and key manufacturing processes were adapted to recycle water use. This project is saving 88.3 million litres of water a year.
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In an Australian first, a membrane bioreactor water recycling plant will be built into the new Discovery Point development at Wolli Creek to treat and recycle sewage from the high-rise apartment blocks. The plant will produce high quality, recycled water to use in toilet flushing, laundries, car washing, cooling tower make up and irrigation at Discovery Point. Recycled water will also be piped across the Cooks River Bridge to Tempe to provide a continuous and sustainable supply of non-potable water for the irrigation of five Marrickville Council parks and a golf course. The only other example of an advanced water treatment plant in a high-rise apartment building is in the Solaire Building in Battery Park, New York. No other project uses the recycled water for clothes washing. The project will save 98 million litres of drinking water a year.
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Three custom-designed Aquamiser systems have been installed at Ensign's Rosebery and Punchbowl plants to reclaim water and waste heat from its laundry washing equipment. The Aquamiser is a water filtration system which can save up to 30% of the water used in washers and washer extractors. The equipment has a heat exchanger system which uses waste heat to warm incoming water for the final rinse. As well as saving water and energy in the washing process, the technology results in higher rinse temperatures and faster drying times. The project is saving 52.6 million litres of water a year.
So Natural Foods Australia Ltd has reduced water consumption through the implementation of water savings devices and equipment. Five sub projects were identified as major saving areas: storing and recycling of water used for cleaning the plant, and replacing heat exchangers. This project is saving 32.2 million litres of water a year.
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A water treatment system has been installed to capture and treat wastewater from the poultry manufacturing process. The water is reused in other areas of the Tahmoor plant, including cleaning and truck washing. The project is saving 4.9 million litres of water a year.
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Plumbing in the Quad I and II buildings at Homebush Bay has been connected to the nearby recycled water pipeline located nearby. The project brings the two office buildings at the Olympic Site in line with offices which already use recycled water. The project is saving 7.7 million litres of water a year.
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Kogarah Council's Beverley Park Water Reclamation Project is now providing irrigation water for all of its parks and playing fields, as well as enough water to keep the Beverley Park Golf Course green. Wastewater is drawn from a sewer main next to the Beverley Park Golf Course and a specifically designed plant treats the waste water to a very high standard for irrigation. Enough recycled water is collected to water all of Kogarah Council's parks and playing fields.
Kogarah Council will be generating enough recycled water to keep all of its parks and playing fields green with construction of a permanent sewer mining plant at Beverly Park Golf Course. A pilot plant has been successfully treating and reusing water for the golf course since 2005. This $3.2 million project will see a permanent facility built to intercept sewage before it discharges to the ocean at Malabar. The plant will treat and recycle the sewage, providing 113.5 million litres of water a year to irrigate the golf course and every park in the Kogarah Council area.
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A natural reed bed water treatment system will be built to provide vital water to keep Macquarie University's five playing fields in top condition. The project involves intercepting wastewater from the sewer main near Mars Creek and treating it to a primary standard through a septic system. The water will be passed through the reed bed system for secondary and tertiary treatments before being used for irrigation. Reed beds were used in the Rocks Riverside Park sewer mining project in Brisbane and provided very high quality, cost effective treatment of effluent with minimal energy consumption. The project also involves harvesting stormwater from the surface and sub-surface drainage system and storing onsite to supplement treated water from the reed beds. The project will save 20.8 million litres of water a year.
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North Ryde Golf Club will become self-sufficient in its water needs for years to come by establishing an on-site sewer mining scheme. The club will save almost 63 million litres of drinking water a year by sourcing effluent from a nearby sewer sub-main and pumping it to a water recycling plant on the course. The water will be treated to irrigation quality for reuse on the greens, fairways and tees, while concentrated waste from the treatment plant will be returned to the sewer.
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This project supported Orica's Groundwater Clean Up Project at Botany Industrial Park by modifying the ChlorAlkali Plant to use recycled water. Water is one of the main raw materials used at the plant to make chemical products for water purification and manufacturing. Orica has now modified its processes at the plant to use the treated water for manufacturing. Pipelines have been installed to transfer the water from the Groundwater Treatment Plant and the water reticulation system was modified to accept the new treated water supply. The project is saving 165.5 million litres of water a year.
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Orica Australia Pty Ltd
Treatment and Re-use of Spent Acid Regeneration Plant Effluent
Funding: $344,902
Orica will treat and reuse wastewater from its Spent Acid Regeneration Plant at Port Kembla to save 81% of the site's current drinking water use. The wastewater is currently discharged into Port Kembla Harbour. The recycling process will remove solids and correct the pH in the wastewater to make it suitable for reuse at the plant. The solids removed from the water will provide a carbon-rich by-product which can be used by other industries across the Illawarra region. This project will save 52.9 million litres of drinking water a year.
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Pennant Hills Golf Course is now being kept lush with recycled water in this project which has built an onsite wastewater treatment plant. Water is now sourced from the nearby sewer, treated to high quality standards and used to irrigate the greens, tees and fairways. The proposal was identified in the club's Water Savings Action Plan as the most effective solution to meet the club's long and short-term water needs. The project is saving 65.5 million litres of water a year.
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Penrith City Council
Water Recycling and Rainwater Harvesting
Funding: $325,490
Water recycling plants and rainwater tanks have been installed at Penrith Swim Centre and Ripples Leisure Centre, St Marys, in a project which is saving Penrith City Council 1.3 million litres of water a year. Backwashing and topping up accounts for most of the water used in public swimming pools. Treating and recycling the backwash water at these two pools has stopped a million litres of water from going down the drain each month. Ninety-five per cent of the treated water is now returned to the pools and the remaining 5% is being supplemented with harvested rainwater from the new tanks and used to water the pool gardens.
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Port Kembla Coal Terminal Limited
Use of Recycled Water for Dust Suppression at Port Kembla Coal Terminal
Funding: $420,000
This project has reconfigured Port Kembla Coal Terminal’s water supply pipework, pumps and associated computer control system to enable recycled water to be used for dust supression. The recycled water is sourced from the adjoining Wollongong Sewerage Treatment Plant and has resulted in water savings of 272 million litres a year.
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Qenos Pty Ltd
Minimising Mains Water Consumption
Funding: $1,068,500
This project will create a new customer for treated water from Orica's Groundwater Treatment Plant at Botany by modifying the Qenos Olefines and Alkatuff plants to be able to use recycled water. Polyethylene manufacturer Qenos will blend the treated water with mains water to use it in the cooling towers at each of the company's two plants in the Botany Industrial Park. Water savings will also be made at Qenos' nearby Alkathene plant with the installation of new water-efficient equipment and changing processes to improve efficiency. The project will save around 922 million litres of water a year.
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Ryde City Council
Water Savings Initiatives at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre
Funding: $431,841
This three-stage project by Ryde City Council has introduced water harvesting and reuse and new technologies at Ryde Aquatic Leisure centre saving 32 million litres of water a year. The project recovers backwash water from the pool which is filtered and reused and also replaces the existing Ozone water treatment system with UV treatment. Rainwater is also captured from the northern side of the aquatic centre roof, diverting it to two 107 kilolitre tanks on the south side where it is treated for reuse in the swimming pools.
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Snack Brands Australia
Wastewater Recycling Project
Funding: $925,000
Arnott's Snackfoods is saving 105.8 million litres of water a year at its Smithfield site since introducing a new recycling technology which enables the company to treat and reuse potato washing water. Wastewater was previously discharged to the sewer from the Wastewater Treatment Plant once it has been used for potato washing. It is now filtered through membrane technology, treated with an anti-microbial biocide and returned to the production operation for reuse.
Solvay Interox Pty Ltd
Utilisation of Treated Ground Water for Non-potable Production Applications
Funding: $200,000
Treated groundwater from the Botany Groundwater Project is now piped to Banksmeadow to be used in cooling towers and boilers at the Solvay Interox site. The project provides a new market for the top grade treated water being cleaned by Orica at a Groundwater Treatment Plant in the Botany Industrial Park. The project installed a 1km pipeline between the treatment plant and the Solvay site with connections to cooling towers, a demineralised water plant and boilers. It is saving 172.9 million litres of water a year.
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Treated effluent currently being discharged into the ocean at Cronulla will be harnessed, treated and reused on 14 sports ovals, two local high schools, the Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club, two industrial estates and two golf courses. The project will be managed by Sutherland Shire Council in partnership with Thiess Toyota, Cronulla Golf Club and the Leagues Club, and will provide enough recycled water to meet the water demands of all the organisations involved. The wastewater treatment plant would intercept much of the 50 million litres of treated effluent currently going to the ocean outfall from the Cronulla Sewage Treatment Plant each day and save 414 million litres of water a year.
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Sydney Airport has established a major recycling project that is saving 310.3 million litres of water a year. The project installed dual pipes needed to use recycled water for toilet flushing, cooling towers, irrigation and maintenance. With Sydney Airport's passenger numbers set to double by 2024, the recycled water is helping manage the airport’s water demand.
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Coal mine discharge water will be treated and reused with new recycling technology being introduced at Centennial Coal's Tahmoor Colliery. The colliery uses 1.5 million litres of drinking water a day for underground mining and surface processes, primarily to control the risk of coal dust explosions and pneumoconiosis. A pilot study with Worth Recycling Pty Ltd showed that Reverse Osmosis Treatment provided a viable option for coal mine wastewater reuse. Centennial Coal will reduce potable water use by 80% - an average of 380 million litres a year. The project will reduce the wastewater currently discharged to the Bargo River and provide surplus treated water for environmental flows. The project will also demonstrate the potential of the technology across the coal mining industry. Some of the substances removed from the water during the treatment process, such as soda ash, may also have a market for use in other industries.
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The Austral Brick Co Pty Ltd
Utilisation of Alternate Water Source from Quarry Sump for Brickmaking
Funding: $269,000
Water previously discharged into local creeks is now harvested and reused by Austral Bricks for brick manufacturing in a project which is saving 25 million litres of water a year. The water reuse scheme excavated a holding dam near the quarry to collect sump water. The water is then pumped to structurally tested storage tanks, before being reused in the factory.
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AGL is investing in a staged recycled water project that will supply high quality recycled water to users across the south and south west of Sydney. AGL can radically change the economics of recycled water reticulation in established areas by using existing isolated gas mains to create a 100km backbone distribution network that provides access to water users across an extensive 500km2 geographic area in the Sydney Basin. It is estimated to save 3,887.9 million litres of water a year.
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Using its Town Hall as a demonstration site, Hunters Hill Council will showcase the ease and practicality of rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse to save water. This project involves installing a tank and greywater recycling system at Hunters Hill Town Hall which will capture rainwater from the roof to be reused for flushing toilets in the building. A similar scheme will also be established at the neighbouring Council works depot and at other sites in the local government area. They include Hunters Hill Preschool, Boronia Park playing fields and Clarke Point Sailing Club. The project will save an estimated 3.3 million litres of water per year.
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University Of Western Sydney
Sustainable Recycled Water Supply for the Hawkesbury Racecourse
Funding: $119,000
Hawkesbury Racecourse and Showground is tapping into a permanent supply of recycled water for the track and arena in this project that connects the two high profile facilities to the Hawkesbury Water Recycling Scheme. Pipelines have been installed to carry the water 2.6 kilometres from Richmond Recycled Water Plant to the two sites. They link to existing storages, wetlands and pumps. Project partners include the University of Western Sydney, the Hawkesbury Race Club, the Hawkesbury District Agricultural Association, Sydney Water, the Hawkesbury Water Recycling Scheme and local irrigation supplier Hawkesbury Valley Irrigation. It is saving an estimated 10.5 million litres of water a year.
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The water treatment facilities at Taronga Zoo have been upgraded to provide extra recycled water to clean enclosures, fill moats and water the landscaped gardens. The works have upgraded the biological wastewater treatment processes and increased the storage capacity for the recycled supplies. The technical plans for the upgrade took into account the unique characteristics of zoo wastewater, containing animal waste, hose-down water and stormwater. The original treatment system for the zoo was built in 1974 predominantly to capture and treat run-off water before it entered Sydney Harbour. This project is saving 43.3 million litres of drinking water a year.
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Page last updated: 16 May 2012
