Stormwater Harvesting – From Funding to Fruition

On Tuesday 25 August 2009 the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts came to Brisbane to present a briefing on how to apply for newly available funds for stormwater harvesting and reuse projects through the National Urban Water and Desalination Plan.  This briefing was well attended, giving good insights on how to structure applications.

That afternoon a number of participants then went on to visit the award winning Willawong Bus Depot.  The new depot is located 15km south of the Brisbane CBD and covers a total area of approximately 7.2 hectares.  The depot harvests rainwater from roofs for use in toilets and showers, uses treated stormwater for irrigation and bus washing, and then retreats this water to ‘Class A’ for storage and reuse.  The harvesting and stormwater quality management measures mitigate the impacts of the depot on the downstream catchment and wetlands. The integrated water system reduces mains water use by 70%, saving 22 megalitres per year. 

Below are some photos from the tour: