GWR Frequently Asked Questions
Is this going into my drinking water?
How do you know it's safe?
How did you decide the level of treatment?
Does it include industrial and hospital waste?
Will GWR affect the environment?
What about potential long-term health effects?
Why can't we use recycled water for industry or agriculture?
What will GWR cost?
Why will it take so long to get under way?
Is this done anywhere else?
Yes. Recycled water to supplement drinking water supplies in towns in the US and UK, as well as in Singapore. South East Queensland have also recently built facilities to recycle wastewater to supplement Brisbane and surrounding communities’ drinking water supplies with purified recycled water. The recycled water will be blended into Wivenhoe Dam when dam levels fall below 40%. Read more about it via the link on the right.
Is this going into my drinking water?
No. Recycled water produced by the Trial will not be in your drinking water.
Neither can it come up in your household bore, or council bores.
Water produced will be added to a confined aquifer, about 120-200m underground, much deeper than the reach of residential or commercial bores. The Trial is located in an area remote from current drinking water bores and separated from the shallower aquifer system that is used for backyard bores by a layer of shales and clays which prevent water movement from one aquifer to the other.
Groundwater modelling as part of planning for the Trial has indicated that water injected during the three year trial will not move beyond the site boundary of the Beenyup site. The nearest drinking water bore is more than 3km away.
How do you know it's safe?
The advanced water recycling process has been designed to produce water that’s as safe as the drinking water that comes out of your tap.
We know it;s safe because monitoring within the plant is designed to ensure it stays within very conservative quality limits and will shut the plant down or divert the water if it’s not operating to these requirements.
Water quality samples are also taken regularly and tested off-site by external laboratories. These results are reviewed by our regulators to confirm it meets quality requirements.
How did you decide the level of treatment?
The advanced water recycling plant was designed to ensure that the recycled water produced would be as safe as drinking water, as per the requirements of the Department of Health, Department of Water and Department of Environment and Conservation.
The water is treated using a combination of processes that together remove increasingly small particles from the water. The water must meet standards set by the Department of Health, Department of Water and Department of Environment and Conservation.
Read more about the treatment processes and how we ensure the safety of the public and the environment on the links at the right.
Does it include industrial and hospital waste?
Unlike some other locations, Western Australia has only one wastewater collection system, to which homes, businesses and hospitals are all connected.
Because of this, industrial and hospital waste is licensed and monitored to ensure wastes are discharged appropriately. This may include a requirement for pre-treatment of radiological materials, heavy metals and oils and greases.
The advanced water recycling process has been designed to ensure contaminants are reduced to safe levels before the recycled water would be added to groundwater. These guidelines include specified levels for various hormones and drugs, and are based on the water producing no harm in a lifetime of consumption.
Encouragingly, recent research by the Department of Health has shown that the great majority of hormones, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting chemicals are actually removed during the wastewater treatment process – before the water even reaches the Advanced Water Recycling Plant. This is attributed to the biological process used within the wastewater treatment plant.
Will GWR affect the environment?
We expect little effect on the existing groundwater as a result of the water added during the Trial and in order to determine any effects, we are conducting 12 months of monitoring on the local groundwater before the Trial begins. This will provide the baseline water quality against which operational monitoring will be measured.
The water to be recharged must meet specified water quality guidelines that would protect human health and relevant environmental values as specified by our regulators. The water quality at recharge will comply with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2004). This requirement to produce water as safe as drinking water for addition to groundwater ensures the highest level of protection for our natural water supplies.
What about potential long-term health effects?
Until the Trial has been completed and the recycled water proven to consistently meet health guidelines, no one will drink this water.
Should groundwater replenishment be adopted in the future, there is little risk to future generations as a result of the recycled water, whether drawn from the aquifer for use in the public water supply or not.
The water quality guidelines set by the WA Department of Health and levels specified therein are based on the precautionary assumption that no harm must be caused in a lifetime of consumption. That is, two litres of water must be drunk every day for 70 years in order for one to approach the maximum recommended level, including any cumulative effects.
Epidemiological studies undertaken in Namibia, where recycled water has been directly added to the water supply for the city since the 1970s have shown no health effects as a result of consumption.
Why can't we use recycled water for industry or agriculture?
Recycled water is already used for a range of purposes including the irrigation of parks and gardens, recycling greywater from the home, irrigating agricultural produce and supplying recycled water for industrial use.
Read more at the link on the right.
What will GWR cost?
Early estimates indicate that the cost of implementing a full groundwater replenishment scheme (25 gigalitres per year) is between $1 and $2 per kilolitre. This is comparable to other new water sources, such as seawater desalination.
The trial itself will cost $38 million. It is part funded by the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative.
Why will it take so long to get under way?
Groundwater replenishment is being considered along with a range of other future source options.
In order to make a more informed decision on its suitability as a future water source, Water Corporation will run a three year trial to allow time for the community to learn about and consider this approach. As part of the technical research, we aim to demonstrate that the risks to the environment and human health are negligible and can be managed safely.
The Water Corporation will also need to obtain environmental and health approvals before a groundwater replenishment scheme can be developed. The Trial is the next step in this process.
