Sewer mining saving drinking water use

The NSW Government has awarded a water recycling licence to Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies to build a recycled water plant at the $500 million Darling Quarter development. The mixed-use development, located in Darling Harbour, Sydney, is one of the first to be granted a water recycling licence as part of the 2010 NSW Metropolitan Water Plan.

NSW Water Minister Phil Costa said the Darling Quarter development plant was one of a growing number of high-rise commercial office towers to tap into Sydney’s wastewater network to recycle water.

Construction is underway on a recycled water treatment plant in the basement of the new development to treat wastewater for use in the building’s toilets and cooling towers,” Minister Costa said.

“This recycled water plant will use a method known as sewer mining to access wastewater from the main sewer and recycle it on site, replacing up to 60 million litres a year of precious drinking water.”

Veolia Water Australia will build and operate the recycled water infrastructure. Drawing wastewater from the nearby Sydney Water sewer main and Darling Quarter buildings, approximately 245 kilolitres of sewage will be treated per day, producing approximately 166 kilolitres of treated water per day.

Wastewater will be treated to the highest standards approved by NSW Health. The recycled water will be distributed through a non-drinking water reticulation network and used within Darling Quarter for non-drinking purposes, including toilet flushing, irrigation of water and plant beds, and cooling tower make-up water.

Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Managing Director Laurent Gaborit said, “The Darling Quarter Recycled Water Plant is one of the first sewer mining projects of this kind in Sydney, combining Veolia technologies - the Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) and Membrane BioReactor (MBR) technologies with Reverse Osmosis and Ultraviolet - to produce high-quality treated water for re-use.”

The Darling Quarter development is a partnership between Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and Bovis Lend Lease, which was further recognised last week with a 6 Star Green Star-Office Design v2 certified rating from The Green Building Council of Australia.

The development will include a low-rise campus-style commercial development with more than 55,000 square metres of net lettable area across nine-storey buildings, a rejuvenated retail precinct, a new park and playground incorporating water play, and associated car parking. The Commonwealth Bank has leased the commercial component for an average of 13 years, with the bank to accommodate over 5500 employees at the site.

Darling Quarter and the recycled water plant are expected to be completed mid-2011.