Recycled water in Kingston's green wedge
| What our community wants |
Funding and support for a recycled water 'purple pipeline' |
| Who can take action |
Victorian Government, Australian Government |
| Category |
Water |
A new pipeline to provide recycled water to Kingston’s Green Wedge would save thousands of litres of valuable drinking water while providing a cost-effective water source for the area’s food producers, garden industry and parklands.
Kingston’s Green Wedge is home to market gardens, plant nurseries, golf courses, parkland and sportsfields – all which require water to thrive.
Yet water is scarce and expensive. Rather than using valuable drinking water, a new recycled water pipeline could see Class A water piped from the nearby Eastern Treatment Plant to this key region.
Businesses in the Green Wedge currently use a mix of potable (drinking) water and storm water, however increasing demand and climate change threaten the stability of Melbourne’s water resources.
More efficient water use and alternative water sources are needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the local food production industry, not only in Kingston but also in the entire South East region.
This could be achieved through a recycled water ‘purple’ pipeline project linking Kingston’s Green Wedge to the Eastern Treatment Plant at Carrum.
The ETP produces high-quality Class A water, which is suitable for agricultural use, but new pipeline infrastructure is needed to transport the water to this key site.
An opportunity exists to lay recycled water pipeline alongside the new Mordialloc Freeway, or to connect to the existing Keysborough recycled water project.
The pipeline could also be extended north into Clayton to meet the needs of the Victorian Planning Authority’s Clayton Business Park residential development.
The project has been included in the Dandenong Integrated Water Management Strategic Directions Statement which prioritises regional water projects.
Four million dollars was secured in the 2018/19 Victorian budget for co-investment in IWM projects listed in Strategic Directions Statements across Victoria, however further government investment is required to ensure the project proceeds.