Water Minister Tim Holding released the figures today while at Sandhurst to congratulate the 1000th residential recycled water customer at Sandhurst and the Hunt Club Estate. 

“The Brumby Government and water authorities are working to increase the use of recycled water which helps reduce demand on our drinking water supplies,” Mr Holding said.

“Melbourne uses far more recycled water than any other major city in Australia with annual use increasing from around 14 billion litres in 1999 to over 66 billion litres in 2007/08.”

Recycled water is used for a range of non-drinking purposes including agriculture, industry, sportsgrounds, nurseries and in new residential housing developments such as Sandhurst and the Hunt Club Estate in Cranbourne.

Industry, agriculture, sportsgrounds and new housing developments used approximately 51 billion litres with a further 15.7 billion used at Melbourne’s treatment plants.

A recent comparison of recycled water use across major cities by the Water Services Association of Australia found Melbourne recycled around three times more than any major city.

Mr Holding said Melbourne had truly exceeded the target for recycled water set by the Victorian Government. 

“In 2002 we committed to recycling 20 per cent of Melbourne’s wastewater by 2010.  We reached this target two years ahead of schedule and this year recycled 23.2 per cent of our wastewater,” he said.

South East Water is supplying Class A recycled water from the Eastern Treatment Plant through a dual pipe system.

Mr Holding said recycled water is piped directly to 1000 households at Sandhurst Estate and the Hunt Club for garden watering, toilet flushing and car washing.

“Recycled water enables these households greater freedom from water restrictions and is helping reduce demand on drinking water use in these homes by about a third,” he said.

“Dual pipe systems are installed in new housing estates as it is cost prohibitive and disruptive to retrofit a new pipe system in built up suburban areas. 

“There are many more dual pipe systems under construction including Aurora Estate, Bluestone Green Estates, Marriot Waters and Blue Hills Rise Estates which will see thousands more homes connected to recycled water in the next few years.”

South East Water’s Managing Director Shaun Cox expects to supply up to 40,000 households in Melbourne’s south-east growth corridor with recycled water over the next 20 years.

“Those customers could save the equivalent of around four billion litres of drinking water each year, just by substituting Class A recycled water for flushing toilets and outdoor use,” Mr Cox said

“The wider use of recycled water will reduce the ocean discharge from the Eastern Treatment Plant, so our coastal environment will also be a big winner.

“Purple taps, pipes, hoses and meters help residents distinguish between recycled water and drinking water supplies.”

Member for Cranbourne Jude Perera MP said the ongoing drought, climate change and population growth meant it was more important than ever to increase water recycling.

“The $300 million upgrade of the Eastern Treatment Plant will supply Melbourne with more than 100 billion litres of Class A recycled water for non-drinking purposes by 2012,” Mr Perera said.

Other recycled water projects in 2007/08 included:
•    The Werribee Irrigation District Water Recycling Scheme which provided about 12.5 billion litres of recycled water to irrigators;
•    Eastern Irrigation Scheme in Melbourne’s south-east provided over 6 billion litres of recycled water for agriculture; and
•    South East Water supplied over one billion litres of recycled water to agricultural customers along the Mornington Peninsula.

Regional centres like Bendigo, Gippsland and Ballarat are also undertaking recycled water infrastructure projects which are saving water and providing a solution to water restrictions.

Melbourne’s water storages are currently at 33.6 per cent. At the same time last year they were around 40.2 per cent.

For further information on recycled water visit www.ourwater.vic.gov.au or call 136 186.