News article

McLaren Vale company shows way
Monday, December 11, 2006

Malcolm Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for water policy, visited WBWC's operations late in 2006

At a time when water use is in the national spotlight, a McLaren Vale company is showing the way on sustainable water use.

The Willunga Basin Water Company (WBWC) is at the forefront of water reuse with a state-of-the-art reclaimed water scheme, which provides local wineries and grape growers with a reliable, year-round, cost-effective water supply.

Headed by former international merchant banker, Norm Doole, the WBWC scheme is a role model for reclaimed water technology.

The company takes treated water from SA Water's Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant, 10 kilometres north of the Willunga Basin and pumps it via 70 kilometres of pipeline to more than 80 users whose properties cover more than 1500 hectares.

The plant treats about 10,000 megalitres (equivalent to 10,000 Olympic swimming pools) of wastewater a year and about a third of that is being used by the WBWC for irrigators. The remaining treated wastewater is pumped out to sea.

The WBWC, which has for seven years successfully operated and managed the reclaimed water scheme, hopes eventually to have the capacity to take most of the wastewater from the plant.

"We deliver environmental value to the community by reducing discharge to the sensitive Gulf St Vincent marine environment and saving water that would otherwise be taken from underground aquifers and the River Murray", Mr Doole said.

Mr Doole said use of the wastewater also gives the opportunity to 'drought-proof' an industry which is heavily reliant on water.

"The scheme, first mooted in the early 1990s, benefits the company, the community and the environment and serves as a catalyst for economic growth in the Southern Vales region" he said.

"Our reclaimed water scheme provides a magnificent example of what can be achieved when people come together to tackle water resource challenges.

"The idea is that we bring water to an area starved for water. Reclaimed water usage is sustainable and environmentally responsible."

The WBWC, which has a contract with SA Water until 2038, began construction of the pipeline in 1997 and it continues to expand.

Mr Doole said the company is also working with the Onkaparinga Council on the proposed $62million Waterproofing the South (WTS) project. The application for Stage 1 of the project was lodged with the Federal Government's National Water Commission in June and is awaiting notification of endorsement.

If approved, that stage will set the framework for the project to reuse about four gigalitres (4,000 megalitres) of water for parks and gardens. Funding of $23million would come from the WBWC, SA Water, the Council and the State Government.

Mr Doole said the WTS project lays the foundation for a far greater scheme which would recycle additional water sources. It would allow the business to diversify and grow in the longer term.

"Finding efficient ways to reuse water rather than flushing it out to sea will be crucial in future, especially in years of low rainfall" he said.

"Water is a commodity that will rise steeply in value in coming years."