Self-sufficient village in Sydney

Central Park Sydney is a $2 billion mixed-use urban village that is designed to maximise self-sufficiency through renewable energy sources and sustainable water supplies. Located on Broadway in the suburb of Chippendale, the village sits across a 5.8-hectare site with one-third dedicated to open space and the rest includes commercial, residential and retail developments.

A key component of the precinct’s ambitious green agenda is the Central Thermal and Electrical Plant (CTEP or ‘tri-gen plant’) which comprises two 1.1 MW gas turbines. An Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA) with the City of Sydney provided long-term, low-cost funding for the first 1.1 MW gas turbine engine, which is now complete and delivering thermal energy to residents and retailers in the village. For example, chilled water from the CTEP is piped directly to Woolworths for its refrigeration units.

Another key feature of the development is the water recycling facility, which is claimed to be the largest in the basement of a residential building. The recycled water centre is built over four basement levels in the One Central Park West building and at full capacity it will produce at least 1 ML of recycled water a day.

Central Park Water, which is owned by Flow Systems, is the dedicated water utility and is managing the entire water cycle for the village. The water network harnesses multiple water sources and creates multiple water supplies, covering all community water needs.

Water will be available for use from seven sources including: rainwater from roofs; stormwater from impermeable surfaces/planterbox drainage; groundwater from basement drainage systems; sewage from an adjacent public sewer; sewage from all buildings within the Central Park community; irrigation water from all greenwalls; and drinking water from the public water main.

Designed to simplify operations management and minimise maintenance, the water recycling technology can be completely controlled remotely and requires a minimum amount of space. Water is purified to the highest Australian standards undergoing eight filtration and purification processes including membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) technologies.

The private water licence is subject to the same licensing requirements as Sydney Water, and IPART and the Minister for Finance and Services will oversee its administration and operation. Central Park Water provides drinking water, recycled water, wastewater and trade-waste services. Monthly e-bills are sent to customers and water use is monitored 24/7, which is beneficial for reducing water leakage and informing customers.

Multiple sustainable pipelines within the precinct enable the delivery of differing water qualities. Given households use only 10 to 20% of water for drinking/cooking and another 20 to 30% for cleaning, Central Park Water is enabling households and businesses to use recycled water for the 50 to 70% of other activities such as toilet flushing, washing machine use, irrigation, green-wall watering and air cooling.

Residents are set to save between 40 and 50% of drinking water and other benefits include: saving money; creating a secure water supply unaffected by water restrictions; and greening gardens and landscaping.

The Central Park Water Centre will also provide recycled water to the energy utility for cooling tower water. This will save the energy utility money through reduced water purchases and allow the overall community to achieve a higher Green Star rating.

The development has been designed to allow connection to the City of Sydney’s city-wide network of energy and water. The developers and consultant team have worked closely with the City to ensure this can become an eventuality in the future.