Grants up for grabs for innovative water projects

Friday, 2 July 2010

Victorian councils, businesses, sporting groups and community organisations will be able to harness the benefits of stormwater and recycled water with the latest round of grants through the Victorian Government’s Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund.

Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund Committee Chair Dennis Cavagna said funding is available for innovative projects to encourage the adoption of urban stormwater harvesting and recycled water.

"By using stormwater and recycled water for uses where high water quality isn’t required, we are reducing the demand on our drinking water supplies," Mr Cavagna said.

"Round 2 of the Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund will build on the success of the previous seven demonstration projects already funded across the state.

"These projects are not only saving billions of litres of water a year but are also trialling new ways of using stormwater and small scale recycled water so that the methods can be applied at other sites."

Projects that have been previously funded include:

• Wannon Water roof water harvesting– capturing water from 142 rooftops at a residential subdivision to be stored in an existing water storage where it becomes part of the drinking supply for Warrnambool.
• Royal Botanic Gardens stormwater harvesting – capturing water from neighbouring residential areas to fill the Ornamental Lake which has dried out in previous summers. The water can also be used for irrigation around the gardens.
• Hawthorn Football Club rainwater harvesting at Waverley Park – collecting water from neighbouring Woolworths offices and distribution centre to a storage tank and community lake for use on the training ground, community parks and gardens.
• Yarra Valley Water Brushy Creek Sewerage Treatment Plant upgrade – upgrade of plant to produce Class A recycled water to irrigate nearby sportsgrounds and to be available for use in the community.
• Southern Cross Station water harvesting project – Harvesting water from the roof of Southern Cross Station to be collected from the Bourke Street main drain to maintain wetlands at Docklands Park and to irrigate Docklands Park and Esplanade Park.

Projects in Round 2 of the Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund will focus on innovation in integrating water use efficiency and stormwater use in housing design, stormwater use in neighbourhoods or precincts that reduces the demand on drinking water use in public open spaces, community engagement and projects that facilitate the development of relationships between organisations.

Grants of up to $1 million are available matched on a one to one basis. The fund will remain open until Thursday 19 August 2010.

Find out more about the Strormwater and Urban Recycling Fund.