$320m upgrade doubles GRS capacity

Water Corporation will oversee a $320 million expansion to its Groundwater Replenishment Scheme (GRS,) promising to double capacity for a total output of 28 billion litres per year.

Construction of the second stage began in late 2017 and has since been fully commissioned by the Western Australian Government, following additional testing of the off-site bores.

New infrastructure constructed as part of the  $320 million Stage 2 expansion will include:

• A second Advanced Water Recycling Plant next to the first at Water Corporation’s Beenyup facility in Craigie
• Four recharge bores and four monitoring bores across two recharge sites in Neerabup and Wanneroo
• A 13km recharge pipeline to transfer the treated drinking-quality water from the plant to the new bores

Operating since 2017 the GRS remains the first full-scale project of its type in Australia, and has since recharged more than 54 billion litres of water.

The innovative scheme sees highly treated wastewater from the Beenyup Water Resource Recovery Facility purified at the Advanced Water Recycling Plant to a level that exceeds drinking water standards.

Fifty per cent of this purified recycled water will be used to recharge the Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers on site, with the remaining water used to recharge aquifers at bore sites in Neerabup and Wanneroo, via a 13km long pipeline.

This innovative water source forms part of Water Corporation’s three-stream approach to develop new water sources, reduce water use and increase water recycling. By 2035, Water Corporation aims to recycle more than a third (35 per cent) of treated wastewater.

State Water Minister, Dave Kelly, said the project would lessen the impact of global climate change on Western Australia’s water resources.

“Due to the impacts of climate change, reduced rainfall and increased abstraction, our groundwater resources are under pressure,” Mr Kelly said.

“Water Corporation’s Groundwater Replenishment Scheme is an innovative and sustainable way to recycle large volumes of water.

“By recharging our precious groundwater supplies through the scheme, we are able to abstract equivalent groundwater in later years, adding to Perth’s drinking water supply, while reducing impacts to the environment and other water users.

“Along with the State Government’s commitment to build a renewably-powered desalination plant at Alkimos by 2028, this major $320 million investment will help secure Perth’s water supplies and manage the impacts of climate change.”

Feature Image: Water Corporation’s Groundwater Replenishment Scheme facility in Perth. Photo: Water Corporation.

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