Turning stormwater into drinking water

• 
  Achievement
• Project aims
• Project achievement
• Partners
• Project supporters
• Project coordinators

Achievement

This information sheet explains the process behind a project in Salisbury, just north of Adelaide in South Australia. The project is bottling drinking water from water which began life as stormwater and which otherwise would have been left to flow away down our gutters.

The water, labelled Recharge, was harvested for drinking from urban stormwater collected from the 1 620 ha residential and light industrial area of Salisbury.

The water was treated only by passing it through a reed bed before injecting it via a well into a limestone aquifer, 160m below ground, for storage. 

The water was recovered from the same well after 12 months in the aquifer.

During that time drinking water quality was achieved, and the water was then bottled. 

The water was rigorously tested and meets all drinking water criteria.

This particular water was bottled after hundreds of megalitres of fresh water had already been recovered for industrial and irrigation supplies, so it contains some native groundwater, estimated to be 10 000 years old, mixed with the stormwater from 2005.

Because the native groundwater was brackish this blend, of 93 per cent stormwater and 7 per cent groundwater, retains a slight groundwater flavour. 

Project aims

The project demonstrates how stormwater can be harvested, using management frameworks that can be replicated, and meet all residential water quality requirements.

A risk assessment and management plan has been prepared for this catchment to ensure that similar water recovered at neighbouring wells can continuously be of a quality fit for drinking.

Project achievement

This water is an example of what is achievable through the Aquifer Storage, Transfer and Recovery project (ASTR), involving the same harvesting system but a configuration of separate injection and recovery wells. 

ASTR extends the time the water spends in the acquafer - the 'residence' time - and the travel distance within the aquifer. It also enhances attenuation of any chemical and microbial contaminants. 

Partners

ASTR is a partnership of:

• United Water International Pty Ltd (UWI)
• CSIRO Land & Water
• The City of Salisbury
• South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water)
• Department of Water Land & Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC).

Project supporters

The project is supported by:

• South Australia's Premier's Science and Research Fund
• Australian Department of Education Science and Training International Linkages Program (with European Union Project ‘Reclaim Water’)
• National Water Commission through Water Smart Australia support of WaterProofing Northern Adelaide Project.

Project coordinators

Project coordinators are:

• Dr Stephanie Rinck-Pfeiffer (UWI)
• Dr Peter Dillon (CSIRO) Research Leader
• Mr Rudi Regel (UWI) the Project Manager.

This research is through the Water for a Healthy country Flagship's Urban Water research theme.

Investigate how CSIRO is applying its expertise in facilitating the Water reuse: facilitating options for Australia's water supplies in the world’s driest inhabited continent.

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Location

Editor's Choice

• Water for a Healthy Country Flagship overview
• CSIRO Land and Water
• Urban water: addressing Australia’s urban water challenges 
• Water Use and Reuse Stream Projects 
• Aquifer Storage, Transfer and Recovery brochure
• Aquifer Storage, Transfer and Recovery project (ASTR) [external link]
• Reclaim Water [external link]
• United Water [external link]