$10.3 million wastewater recycling upgrades in Riverton and Clare completed

Senator Don Farrell, the Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, has joined the Member for Wakefield, Nick Champion, to mark the completion of the Riverton and Clare Integrated Community Water Supply and Re-use Schemes.

Senator Farrell said the Australian Government contributed nearly $3 million to the $10.3 million project to upgrade the Riverton and Clare Wastewater Treatment Plants and associated wetlands.

“These upgrades will increase the supply of recycled water by more than 120 million litres every year in Riverton and about 560 million litres every year in Clare,” Senator Farrell said.

Champion said the project increases the volume of recycled water that can be made available to enhance important community facilities such as the golf course, school and town ovals, and associated wetlands.

“The enhanced wetlands, in particular, will provide significant environmental outcomes as well as providing further opportunities for the entire community to enjoy these public spaces,” Champion said.

“Benefits to the Riverton community as a result of these upgrades include providing recycled water for the agricultural elements of a local school education program, which is testing the potential for the irrigation of dry-land crops and water resource recovery enterprises.

“At Clare, the project has also opened up significant tracts of land along the Hutt River, which had been inaccessible to the public for the past four decades.”

Senator Farrell said the Australian Government recognises the importance of addressing water scarcity in challenging environments.

“The benefits of using recycled water include reducing the pressure on drinking water supplies in the short and long term,” Senator Farrell said.

“Together, these projects in Riverton and Clare will save more than 680 million litres of potable water every year, thereby reducing demand on the River Murray.”

The projects were funded by the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative, under the National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns and Water Smart Australia programs.