Posts Tagged ‘water’
Stormwater Harvesting & Reuse: Kalkallo, Vic
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on August 18th, 2010
Source: Smart Water Fund
Yarra Valley Water has won the ‘Master-planning and design’ category of the 2009 Stormwater Excellence Awards for its proposed Kalkallo Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse Project, at the new Merrifield development in Melbourne’s north. The project will involve capturing and treating stormwater from a 160 hectare catchment area within commercial land at Merrifield. In the future, it is hoped that the treated water may supplement the drinking water supply across the development and Melbourne’s growing northern corridor. In 2009 the project received more than $9.6 million funding under the first round of the Federal Government’s ‘Water for the Future – National Urban Water and Desalination Fund’.
The stormwater will be collected via traditional stormwater drains. It will then be treated in a series of architecturally-designed wetlands along the Hume Highway frontage of Merrifield, including settling ponds and wetlands and then stored in a large dam. The wetlands will incorporate best-practice sustainability design principles, which will manage the quality and quantity of stormwater collected from the area. From there the water will pass through a state-of-the-art treatment plant, which will produce a drinking-water-quality end product, used to supplement the development’s recycled water supply. Eventually, it is hoped it can supplement the potable water supply when rigorous monitoring and data collection demonstrates that it is safe to do so.
“This water sensitive approach at Merrifield will be a leading example for future cities. It shows how the water industry is proactively creating solutions for the community to maximise use of alternative water sources, and reduce the excess stormwater degrading our streams and waterways,” says Mr Tony Kelly, Yarra Valley Water Managing Director. “The Kalkallo Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse Project is set to be a project of international significance, showcasing how urban water infrastructure can be designed differently to deliver a more resilient water solution.”
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Beyond Engineering – The Value Of Water & Other Natural Resources: Public Lecture
Posted in Events, Research by Kate Archdeacon on August 16th, 2010
Image: noodle_snacks via flickr CC
Dr Brian Davidson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Resource Management, University of Melbourne:
Technologists spend significant effort delivering natural resources, but the context we work in is economic. Water is a critical resource, but without an understanding of its value, water delivery projects are problematical. Is water overvalued or undervalued?
Catchment Management Authorities (the true suppliers of water) cannot readily alter prices, raising them to update or improve infrastructure or reducing them to sell more water.
According to market theory the absence of a functioning market in water means that it isn’t priced correctly, so how is it possible to make a meaningful rational decision on whether to invest in new infrastructure or undertake some economic adjustment? If water were traded more freely would water be allocated so that it maximised social benefit? Or could it be that the desired outcomes that are believed to come from the market may not be achieved?
The same may be considered true for many natural resources. The aim in this talk is to examine these theoretical and practical questions, to make a judgement call on whether they hold and in light of that to suggest an alternative way some of the benefits that are meant to be derived from a free market may be delivered to all water users.
Wednesday 18th August 2010 6:00pm
Theatre 3, Alan Gilbert Building (Cnr of Grattan St & Barry St)
The University of Melbourne
Public welcome — no entry charge
Presented by IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology
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Dialysis Project Saves Lives and Water
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on July 19th, 2010
Source: Smart Water Fund
Image: Bill Peckham CC 3.0
One of Australia’s largest providers of dialysis, North West Dialysis Service (NWDS) is set to save up to 1.68 megalitres of water a year per site through an innovative water recycling system. A Smart Water Fund grant enabled NWDS to investigate a system that captures clean reject water generated during the dialysis procedure for reuse in a number of its facilities. This water would otherwise go directly to sewer.
“We’ve worked with 23 of our sites to find beneficial uses for waste water that also have an acceptable project payback timeframe,” said James Gerrish, NWDS Business Activity Coordinator and Project Manager. “Instead of going straight to sewer, it’s possible to use the water for toilet flushing in health care facilities, as wash down water, in air- conditioning cooling towers and to water gardens in regional facilities. For example our Wodonga site could rescue six litres of water per minute during dialysis and use it for toilet flusher tanks or cooling towers,” Mr Gerrish said. “This equates to 1.68 megalitres of water a year – that’s enough to half-fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.”
A key aspect of the project’s success has been to determine the quality of the reject water and ensure water use demand matches the consistent quantities of water produced during dialysis. “Many regional dialysis centres are co-located with aged care facilities in regions with tough water restrictions,” Mr Gerrish said. “While demand for irrigation water fluctuates throughout the year, these sites place a high value on this water use as they see the therapeutic and aesthetic value of maintaining their gardens.”
In addition to saving millions of litres of clean water a year, a key project outcome will be the development of a dialysis water reuse handbook for dialysis providers across Australia. NWDS project sites will also receive a detailed individual site report and an overall project report enabling benchmarking with similar facilities.
Part of Melbourne Health, NWDS, provides haemodialysis (blood filtration) for approximately 580 Victorians with kidney failure at 30 centres and 150 homes. NWDS dialysis units range from regional and rural healthcare centres to metropolitan dialysis services, including the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
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The Big Bucket: a DIY Greywater Project
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 8th, 2010
Visit the DIY Greywater Blog
Just imagine, every time you take a shower, all the used shower water disappears, but instead of going down the drain, it is watering one section of your garden for you, automatically. All you need do, at some point during the day, is go outside and switch over the taps or hose (or whatever you use to direct the water to different sections of the garden each day) in readiness for the next day’s supply of freely reusable water. Depending on the number of people in your household and the size and type of garden you have, you might never need to “do the watering” again!
Some figures…
* One 3-minute shower using a water-saving showerhead uses about 30L of water.
* For a family of 4, that’s at least 840L of water per week
* One square meter of vegetable garden needs 28L per week (in hot dry weather) – 30 square meters needs 840L.
How is it done?
Burnley Gardens Open Day
Posted in Events, Research by land-environment on July 1st, 2010
Burnley students of the 1950s show off their pruning style.
Burnley Gardens Open Day offers a stellar program for the whole family in sustainable gardening and horticultural practice, at the heritage-listed Burnley Gardens.
Delivered in partnership by the University of Melbourne’s School of Land and Environment and Friends of Burnley Gardens, horticultural experts will present you with free lectures and paid workshops, kids’ activities, forums and seminars on leading sustainable gardening practice, including pruning, pest and disease control, watering and fertilisers, and setting up a veggie plot. There will be tours taking you back in time through the lush and historic gardens, and University course advice for budding horticulturists.
So come along with your gardening friends and family and winter woolies, and learn about gardening to your heart’s content!
For further information, visit www.land-environment.unimelb.edu.au.
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Sustainable Shoppers Guide to Rainwater Tanks
Posted in Opinion by Kate Archdeacon on June 4th, 2010
Source: cuttings, the Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) newsletter
From Cuttings, May 2010:
As summer becomes a distant memory and the weather begins to cool, many of us have been privy to an unusual phenomenon… rain! With all the wet stuff about, and some governments altering their water restrictions, we do tend to forget about water conservation and rain water harvesting… but, let me assure you, this is the time to think about it, not just in the warmer months! In fact, autumn and winter are excellent times to seriously consider installing rainwater tanks. If you have a rainwater tank in place now, think of all the H2O you’ll have ready to go come spring … it’s kind of like a ‘layby lifeline’ for your patch!
But with the huge range of tanks out there, heading out to buy a tank can be incredibly daunting. Luckily, SGA have come to the rescue, and have put together a ‘Sustainable Shoppers Guide’ to help you make the right rainwater decision for your place. So here is a swag of information on a number of commonly used, currently available rainwater tanks and their features, be they good, bad and ugly. Bear in mind that new products are released all the time, so, if the tank you are interested in ain’t on the list, just let us know, or pop on the forum and have a yarn!
Oh, and remember, with all tanks, it is recommended that you get a licensed plumber to install your tanks… it’s the only way to claim any Government rebates on the purchase price of your water holding wonder!
Go to “Tanks A Lot – The Sustainable Shoppers Guide to Rainwater Tanks” to see the results.
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Transition Management: Institute for Social Research
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on May 27th, 2010
Presenter
Professor Derk Loorbach, Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Erasmus University, Rotterdam and Visiting Distinguished Researcher at the Institute for Social Research at Swinburne University of Technology
The issue
Australia has ‘inherited’ from the 20th century highly liveable but unsustainable cities, and a very cheap but unsustainable energy system. These and other challenges have been catalogued in Transitions: Pathways Towards Sustainable Urban Development in Australia (2008, Springer and CSIRO Publishers). Visions of where our urban, water, energy, transport and housing systems could be by 2050 have been advanced, but the process of transformation is proving to be intractable.
Towards a solution
Professor Derk Loorbach is a pioneer in Transition Management (TM) and author of a 2007 book with that title. At the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) at Erasmus University, he and his colleagues have led several major TM initiatives, including a national energy transition program, urban transitions in Rotterdam Harbour and city, among many others. Professor Loorbach will outline the TM process invented at DRIFT, together with case studies, and reflect on its potential for application in Australia.
Running sheet for the event
Professor Peter Newton from ISR at Swinburne University of Technology will briefly outline AHURI’s Greyfield Regeneration project he is leading with Monash and RMIT Universities before introducing Professor Loorbach.Following Professor Loorbach’s presentation there will be a brief wrap-up by ARUP who will introduce the Melbourne Transformation Cluster initiative. The session concludes with light refreshments, drinks and informal networking.
When
5.30pm – 7.00pm Thursday 10 June 2010 (presentation followed by drinks and light refreshments)
Where
Level 5, 215 Spring Street Melbourne (ARUP)
RSVP
Before Monday 7 June 2010 Email: isradmin@swin.edu.au Telephone: 03 9214 5978 (seating is limited)
www.sisr.net
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Donated Water Revives Unique Murray Wetland
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on May 17th, 2010
Source: Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)
The 400 million litres of water purchased by the Australian Conservation Foundation with donations from people from all over the country has started to flow into the Hattah Lakes wetlands in northern Victoria. ACF’s Just Add Water initiative, launched on 15 March, aimed to raise enough money to purchase 200 million litres of water for Hattah. But the response from the public was so big that within two weeks ACF doubled its target. The 400 million litres was purchased on the water market and now it is flowing into the wetlands.
“It’s a thrill to see the water flowing back into this wetland which has not had a major flood since 1996″, said ACF’s Dr Paul Sinclair. “Wetlands filter our water and provide feeding and breeding sites for many fish and bird species. Environmental watering like this is necessary because too much water has been taken out of the Murray-Darling over too many decades, mostly for irrigated agriculture. In fact, 90 per cent of wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin have already been lost. Today’s event shows how people power can help revive a thirsty wetland. It also sends a powerful message to the Water Minister, Senator Penny Wong, that she should expand the Federal Government’s program of buying water and return it to the desperately dry rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin.”
The water is being delivered to Hattah Lakes through the Victorian Government’s environmental watering program in partnership with Parks Victoria and the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Remote cameras have been installed to film the lakes filling over the next three months. Footage can be viewed at: www.justaddwater.org.au.
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Use of recycled water in industry: Guidance Tool
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on May 3rd, 2010
Source: Smart Water Fund
Victoria University and the Smart Water Fund have developed a guidance tool for industrial water users to address issues associated with recycled wastewater systems and increase uptake across the state. The user-friendly guide, ‘Guidance for the Use of Recycled Water by Industry’, is designed to inform industrial water users on recycled water and how systems can be installed, with an emphasis on reticulated treated wastewater.
“As part of the project we engaged five different industries in Victoria and identified common concerns about reticulated treated wastewater, such as corrosion, water quality and company image when associated with using recycled water,” said project manager at Victoria University, Professor Stephen Gray.
“Across the board industries were unsure of its applicability to their business and some were reluctant to install recycled systems, despite the water savings they could make,” Professor Gray said.
Victoria University identified nine different categories of water use that are common across different industries. Each category has its own water quality requirements, human exposure levels and hazards.
“After identifying the most common water needs for industries in Victoria, we conducted a thorough literature review to provide a comprehensive and sound base on which to make recommendations,” Professor Gray said.
Based on the literature review, Victoria University developed a quick scan ‘water reduction tool’ and decision support framework (DSF) and trialled it on the five industries, each having different water use needs.
“The trials were received positively, with four of the five companies successful in identifying a water-saving measure for further investigation.” Professor Gray said.
“Depending on the structure of your business, recycled water systems can make water savings of more than 50 per cent, which improves the financial sustainability of your business in the long-term and reduces your impact on the environment.
“Wastewater recycling also provides additional benefits for companies where rainwater tanks are not an option, or higher levels of certain minerals and substances are beneficial.”
The guidance tool has been recognised by industry bodies in Victoria and nationally, including the dairy and food industries, as a well-rounded and accurate document for industries to make an informed decision on recycled water.
The guidance tool has also been referenced in a number of reports and websites, including VicWater and recycledwater.com.au
Read more about the project on SmartWater.
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Smart Water Conference: Presentations Online
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on April 26th, 2010
Source: Smart Water Fund
Presentations from the inaugural Smart Water Conference are now available for download. The Smart Water Conference presentations offer an insight into the projects and topics discussed and are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in undertaking water saving projects.
Held in October 2009, the inaugural conference provided a platform for knowledge transfer in the water industry and gave attendees an opportunity to meet innovators in the water management and research fields. The conference featured 18 speakers across three different topic streams, from a range of industries and sectors, including science and technology, industry and business, and community, education and social science. Each project discussed has received funding and support from the Smart Water Fund to provide new learnings into water conservation, water recycling and biosolids management.
Keep an eye on the Smart Water Fund website for vodcasts of the conference presentations, which will be made available soon.
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