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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-10 Daily Xml
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STORMWATER INITIATIVES

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security) (14:50): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: The South Australian government is committed to the development of and investing in stormwater and wastewater reuse projects. The government's goal in its 2005 Water Proofing Adelaide strategy was to increase annual stormwater reuse to 20,000 megalitres, or about 10 per cent of Adelaide's mains water use. We are well and truly on track to exceed this target, with projects that are underway and in planning. We are on track to reuse an estimated 21,100 megalitres per year of stormwater in the Adelaide region in the medium term. But we are not resting here.

Adelaide is Australia's leading capital city in recycling water. We currently recycle 29 per cent of our treated effluent, more than double the average for metropolitan utilities around the nation at 13 per cent. With projects that are currently underway, our reuse will increase to nearly 45 per cent. The government has always said security of our water supplies will be achieved through a diverse range of projects and technologies. Our four ways to water security strategy reflects this. There is no one silver bullet solution to water security for Adelaide, and we are investing in a range of climate dependent strategies such as stormwater harvesting and climate independent strategies such as desalination.

Stormwater treatment can be costly because water is often polluted, particularly after the so-called 'first-flush' rains following a dry spell. This is a common scenario under Adelaide's weather patterns. Infrastructure is expensive and the volumes of water captured can be highly variable, plus we need to ensure the science is right to be able to store treated water in our aquifers. Despite these complexities, the state government is investing in stormwater harvesting projects in partnership with local government.

Last year, we established the Stormwater Management Authority to provide funding for local government stormwater projects. To date, $5.5 million has been approved for 25 projects worth $13.5 million. The government has committed ongoing funding of $4 million per year for the authority. Major stormwater and wastewater reuse projects in which the state government is investing (in partnership) include:

The Waterproofing Northern Adelaide project is led by the City of Salisbury, the City of Tea Tree Gully and the City of Playford. This project will provide infrastructure to integrate stormwater, groundwater, wastewater and mains systems in the Northern Adelaide Plains region; and 12,100 megalitres per year of drinking water currently used for industrial and urban irrigation will be replaced with treated stormwater. The project will also substitute 1,200 megalitres per year of water currently sourced from groundwater systems and recharge 5,000 megalitres per year to overused and over-allocated aquifers. The government has contributed $16.5 million in land, funding and support for this project.

The government is also working with stakeholders, including the City of Campbelltown, on a project to reuse stormwater at the Lochiel Park Green Village. Treated stormwater will be used for non-potable purposes, including open space irrigation by around 100 residential properties.

Port Road catchment stormwater management plan, including stormwater reuse and water quality improvement is a partnership that we are working on with the City of Charles Sturt and the Port Adelaide Enfield council.

The Brownhill and Keswick creeks catchment stormwater management plan encompasses a range of flood mitigation works that will incorporate (where practicable) stormwater reuse schemes and improvement in water quality and biodiversity. This is a partnership with the Adelaide, Burnside, Mitcham, Unley and West Torrens councils.

Up to six hectares at Cheltenham Park Racecourse will be set aside as a wetland system for the retention of stormwater.

The Metropolitan Adelaide Stormwater Reuse Project will implement stormwater reuse on three metropolitan golf courses, saving up to 1,000 megalitres of water per year. The government is finalising negotiations for a stormwater reuse scheme at Barker Inlet. This scheme has the potential to supply 200 to 300 megalitres annually to industry, schools and open spaces, and this is a partnership with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.

The government is also at the moment negotiating with the Adelaide Airport for a larger scale stormwater reuse scheme at the airport.

In addition to these stormwater reuse projects, the government is:

investing $45 million in the Glenelg to Adelaide Parklands Recycled Water Project that will bring 5,500 megalitres of treated wastewater for use in parklands, irrigation, industry and property developments to the city;

extending the Virginia pipeline scheme to Angle Vale, where market gardens will use another 3,000 megalitres of recycled water;

investing $270 million in upgrading the quality and quantity of recycled water produced by the Christies Beach wastewater treatment plant; and

investing in the Waterproofing the South project, in conjunction with the Onkaparinga council, which will reduce mains water use by 1,100 megalitres a year and see 16,000 new allotments connected to a dual reticulation system at Seaford Meadows.

A major workshop for key state government, local government and scientific groups will take place on 19 September to develop ways to further fast-track stormwater reuse projects.

In describing these achievements, I acknowledge the crucial role of local councils—particularly the Salisbury council—that are working with the Stormwater Management Authority and other state government agencies in creating opportunities for stormwater and effluent reuse.

In closing, I reiterate the government's support for harvesting and reusing stormwater, and this state's record in water reuse is one we can be proud of.

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