Shoalhaven Reclaimed Water Management Scheme expanded

Shoalhaven City Council’s Reclaimed Water Management Scheme (REMS) has been expanded to include the Nowra and Bomaderry Wastewater Treatment Plants.

REMS is a water recycling scheme designed to beneficially reuse treated wastewater on local dairy farms, sporting fields and golf courses, rather than disposing it to the environment.

The program of works was funded by council and the state government and completed in a two-stage approach.

Shoalhaven City Council’s Water Utility, Shoalhaven Water commissioned major works and construction of a new network of distribution pipelines to enable the two wastewater treatment plants to connect to the existing scheme.

The first stage of REMS included collection and transport of reclaimed water from upgraded wastewater treatment plants at St Georges Basin, Huskisson/Vincentia, Culburra and Callala.

It also included construction of a 600 million litre reclaimed water storage facility and reticulation pipelines to deliver the reclaimed water to the end users. The first stage was completed in 2002.

Shoalhaven City Council Mayor Amanda Findley said she was delighted to see the successful completion of works at the two facilities.

“The completion of the major upgrades to the Nowra and Bomaderry Wastewater Treatment Plants in 2020 showcases Shoalhaven City Council’s contributions to sustainable development and the importance of the natural environment to the region,” she said.

“The connection of the Nowra and Bomaderry schemes to the existing REMS has essentially doubled the reclaimed water available to end users to approximately 13 million litres per day.”

Findley added that more than 28 billion litres have been beneficially reused.

“The scheme is one of the largest and most complex water recycling schemes undertaken by a regional water utility, and is an innovative example of how the reuse of reclaimed water can deliver real benefits to the community,” she said.

“These benefits include supporting sustainable industry, delivering drought proofing measures and helping to lessen the environmental impacts that arise in a growing region.”