The Plan confirms how treatment and monitoring processes assure the production and supply of Class A recycled water in line with the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling.
Unitywater Chief Executive Officer, Anna Jackson, said the milestone marked a new era for the area’s water security, economy and environment.
“Having a high quality, climate independent source of water gives certainty for farmers, buffering their businesses against the extremes of nature and a changing climate,” Ms Jackson said.
“Our irrigation customers have been waiting for this moment and tell me they will be better placed to plan for growth, which is good for local employment and investment in the region.
“The 2.6 gigalitres of recycled water has a productive new life, which also diverts 11 tonnes of nitrogen and 1.8 tonnes of phosphorous away from the Caboolture River each year, to improve the health of this well-loved local waterway.
“It’s an example of how we can value every drop and harness the full potential of water resources in a more circular way.
“We’re grateful for the Queensland Government’s approval of the scheme, which confirms the safety of recycled water for agriculture and the potential to expand its use across South East Queensland, so we can preserve precious drinking water supplies for residential and commercial uses.”
Ms Jackson said construction of the scheme’s infrastructure began in February 2022 with installation of a 22-kilometre pipe network, land-based and floating pump stations and water storage tanks at the Moodlu Quarry water balancing facility, and a new water recycling plant.
“Wastewater from the Morayfield and Caboolture networks is treated using a multi-barrier approach which begins with the removal of abrasive particles such as sand before moving into a Sequencing Batch Reactor, which treats it in a single tank through a series of timed steps followed by disc-filtration,” Ms Jackson said.
“The cleaned water is then transferred to the new Recycled Water Treatment Plant for three additional treatment stages.
“It first undergoes multi-media filtration, which uses different layers of media to remove any remaining turbidity and other impurities, before being exposed to ultraviolet light and chlorine for further disinfection.”
Delivery of the complex Wamuran Irrigation Scheme project was recently recognised at the Australian Institute of Project Management’s Queensland Project Management Achievement Awards, winning sustainable project of the year.
For more information on Unitywater’s sustainable water management initiatives, visit www.unitywater.com/sustainability.
