An innovative stormwater harvesting and reuse program is set to save one council millions of litres per year.

Hurstville City Council in Sydney has announced the first phase of its new water management system has been completed, consisting of a bio-retention system, access roads, creation of storage ponds and wetland, and the planting of over 20,000 native shrubs and plants.

The new water scheme will see the council harvesting stormwater from a 160 hectare catchment which will be used to water council areas, tress, parks and the local Golf Club. They will be gathering about 50 million litres of water per year, enough to save approximately 21 million litres of tapwater.

Mayor of Hurstville, Jack Jacovou said “the stormwater is collected from an existing pipe that runs under the 13th fairway. Essentially, the water undergoes further treatment to remove any bacteria before it is used to irrigate the golf course.”

There are environmental benefits too, the Mayor says; “apart from conserving water, the environmental benefits are most positive and include the prevention of sediment and other unwanted pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorous in the stormwater from entering Lime Kiln Bay... I would like to extend thanks to everyone who has been involved in the project, including council’s consultant team, comprising engineers, landscaping design and irrigation specialists.”

Stage two of the plan will start soon; it will include the planting of about 5000 shrubs. Funds were gathered from various sources including the Hurstville Council, the Federal Government’s Water for the Future Initiative, the Office of Environment and Heritage’s Waste and Sustainability Improvement Program, and the NSW Government’s Climate Change Fund.

Details of the completed and planned parts of the scheme are available here.