Water awards for Melbourne’s south-east

South East Water customers Inghams Enterprises, Amcor Australasia, Coca-Cola Amatil and Rossdale Golf Club were finalists in the Prime Minister’s Water Wise Awards with Inghams announced as the inaugural winner of this prestigious water-saving award. The awards recognise commercial and industry water users who excel in efficient water use and management.

Inghams has been recognised for the impressive water savings it achieved by installing an Advanced Water Treatment Plant at its Murarrie facility in Queensland. The initiative reduced the plant’s reliance on mains water by 70%, saving 545 ML of water each year.

Inghams has had a difficult start to the year, when its Somerville operations were destroyed by fire. The company has announced that it will rebuild, with a new plant expected to be operational next year. The Victorian government has pledged money to finance an advanced water treatment plant on the site.

Shaun Cox, Managing Director of South East Water, said:  “We work closely with our customers to look at simple and innovative ways that businesses can implement water savings into their daily operations - whether it is through changes to fire sprinkler testing, using recycled water or implementing ... water-saving devices.”

Rossdale Golf Club in Aspendale was recognised for its integrated stormwater harvesting and aquifer storage and recovery project. South East Water provided the club with water-efficiency funding to construct a new 15 ML storage dam and install seven rainwater tanks with a total capacity of 77 ML.

An innovative aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) project at the golf club saw a 56% reduction in drinking water usage. The project was funded by the Smart Water Fund working in partnership with CSIRO.

Coca-Cola Amatil was recognised for the 55 water-saving projects that it has implemented across its Australian operations, with an estimated annual water savings of 53 million litres each year. The company was specifically recognised for the way it engages staff, stakeholders and the general community in its water-saving efforts.

South East Water worked with Coca-Cola to identify water and trade waste savings at its Bayswater and Moorabbin operations in Melbourne as part of South East Water’s Cleaner Production Program.

The awards were presented at the Australian Water Association’s annual conference in Brisbane. At the same dinner, South East Water employee Dr Terry Anderson was recognised as the Water Professional of the Year.