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It's so good it's been bottledStormwater previously left to flow down drains has been bottled and even drunk by a Prime Minister to demonstrate the innovation possible in our urban water resources. The bottling aimed to demonstrate the intended outcome of the Aquifer Storage Transfer and Recovery (ASTR) project, an unique concept which involves CSIRO, United Water, the City of Salisbury, SA Water and the SA Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. Researchers from the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship collected and bottled the water from an Aquifer Storage and Recovery scheme in the City of Salisbury in what is the first urban stormwater to be bottled as drinking water. The then Prime Minister John Howard and Environment and Water Resources Minister Malcolm Turnbull were amongst the first to drink the water at the 17th meeting of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council in Canberra in June, 2007.
The ASTR demonstration project will involve about 200,000 m3 of urban stormwater being harvested each year via the same reed bed and injected into an aquifer to improve quality before recovery from separate wells at drinking water standards. In the ASTR project, four 160 to 180-metre deep wells are used to inject reed bed treated stormwater into the aquifer, and another two wells are used to recover the water after it has travelled 50 metres through the aquifer. The research focuses on water quality improvements of harvested, injected and recovered stormwater. This includes studies on the attenuation of pathogens and organics, physical and biogeochemical processes and the development and implementation of a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach to provide water quality assurance over the long term. The approach is consistent with current Australian Drinking Water potable water guidelines. Flagship Urban Water stream leader Dr Peter Dillon says the project was developed to show potable and non-potable supplies can be achieved from stormwater currently allowed to flow to the sea. If methods demonstrated at ASTR are successful, it will enable the concept to be replicated elsewhere, including overseas, he says. "The bottled water clearly shows the potential for this water to go into mains supplies," he says. "Further research is required to validate this and build confidence in this approach." Collaboration amongst partners from research institutes, local, state and federal government departments and private industry has progressed the project from an idea to the current demonstration trial. Dr Rudi Regel, ASTR Project Manager from United Water, says the ASTR demonstration trial is one of eight case study sites for the international Reclaim Water project, funded by the European Union and involving 19 partners from western and eastern Europe, Israel, China, Mexico, South Africa and Singapore. "Involvement in the Reclaim Water project is not only advancing science, but also providing CSIRO and ASTR project partners the chance to showcase their expertise, build new relationships and develop future research projects," he says. For more information about the Recharge water see: www.csiro.au/files/files/pfu6.pdf Other information about our work more generally is available on www.csiro.au, www.csiro.au.WaterReuseCapability, www.uwi.com.au/rd/ASTR/ and www.reclaim-water.org Contact: Peter Dillon, CSIRO Land and Water |
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| Water for a Healthy Country Flagship CSIRO Editor: Leane Regan CSIRO Black Mountain Laboratories, Canberra, ACT, 2601 Phone: +61 2 6246 4565 Fax: +61 2 6246 5560 editor.healthycountry@csiro.au www.csiro.au/healthycountry/ |
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