The Victorian Government is drought-proofing the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne by using recycled irrigation water from Melbourne’s Eastern Treatment Plant, via a 1km pipeline to a new treatment plant.
The pipeline will save an annual 35ML of potable water, and will further clean the water of salts and nutrients to make it suitable for long-term irrigation of Australian plants.
The completed project will allow the award-winning gardens to adopt sustainable water management practices to better respond to climate-change-related rainfall and temperature changes.
Minister for Water, Lisa Neville, said, “The completion of this project will not only allow the much-loved gardens to bloom but will also provide them with a reliable water source well into the future – combating the threat of climate change.”
The project began delivering recycled water to the Cranbourne Gardens in February 2022, helping to grow more than 100,000 plants representing 1,900 different species, including 400 rare or threatened species and those from the Victorian bushfire recovery program.
Cranbourne Gardens is one of Victoria’s premier eco-tourism destinations, attracting interstate and overseas visitors, with more than 1.5 million people visiting the gardens in 2021.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, said, “This is a great example of the benefits of using recycled water – Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne benefit and the community will have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful gardens for years to come.”