Aquarevo, one of Australia’s most water efficient communities is about to get greener with the contract awarded on a new water recycling plant in Lyndhurst to reduce reliance on precious drinking water.
Victorian Government Minister for Planning and Member for Carrum, Sonya Kilkenny officially announced that Hydroflux has been awarded the contract to design, build and operate the new Aquarevo Water Recycling Plant.
Using Australian-first technology, the plant will treat approximately 52 million litres of water per annum to Class A standard for each home within the Aquarevo housing estate for non-drinking purposes like toilet flushing, garden irrigation and washing machines.
The plant design will incorporate an organica food chain reactor made to look like a natural garden to seamlessly allow the plant to blend into the residential development.
The energy efficient treatment facility will also include a greenhouse and provide all the aesthetic and odour benefits of the organica process with capacity to treat 207kL of wastewater daily, the volume of an Olympic swimming pool in 12 days.
South East Water Managing Director, Lara Olsen said Aquarevo is a fantastic working example of using an integrated water management approach to deliver water services and to reduce the impact of urbanisation on water supplies and local environments.
“We’re excited to work with Hydroflux to deliver Australian-first water treatment services to our customers that will reduce reliance on previous drinking water across our network in Melbourne’s south east,” said Ms Olsen.
Construction is planned to start in early 2025, with the plant to be operational by late 2026.
Expanding recycled water infrastructure and diversifying water sources plays an important role in securing water supplies for the future, which is a key objective outlined in the Government’s $56.6 million investment in the Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy.
Aquarevo is a collaboration between South East Water and Villawood Properties to create a water and energy efficient urban housing development.
Aquarevo residents benefit from having three types of water plumbed straight to their homes (drinking water, rainwater and Class A recycled water) to reduce their reliance on drinking water by up to 70 per cent.
Homes within the Aquarevo estate on average use 40% less drinking water than typical homes in the South East Water network (and some achieving a reduction of around 60%).
Aquarevo residents are also taking advantage of forward-thinking digital solutions that help them to better control their water use and water bills. This includes being able to reduce their reliance on drinking water through fit-for-purpose use of recycled and rainwater.
The Aquarevo Water Recycling Plant will set a new benchmark nationally given the enhanced community engagement in the estate to support the adoption of beneficial water reuse.
