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Darling Street: City of Melbourne's newest stormwater harvesting project
02 June 2011
City of Melbourne are currently installing an innovative new stormwater harvesting project that will utilise stormwater from existing drains to irrigate the neighbouring park and tree medians.
The project on Darling Street in East Melbourne will capture stormwater from existing drains into an underground tank, treat it through a biofilter system where it will peculate to a holding tank ready for irrigation use. The project will not only support and enhance the local landscape but will introduce new trees into the roadway median strip which mitigate the urban heat island effect.
Use of this treated stormwater will reduce pressure on potable (drinking water) supply and will introduce an economically viable alternative water source as the costs of Melbourne’s potable water supply begin to rise. The project cost is projected to be 75% cheaper than traditional WSUD projects achieving the same volume of stormwater treatment. One of the key saving measures will be the incorporation of a mechanised maintenance system which will reduce the manual maintenance costs normally associated with WSUD systems.
The City of Melbourne and Clearwater are organising industry site visits during the construction of the project. The first presentation and site visit took place at the end of May and provided visitors with an opportunity to see installation of the Humes tank systems. Future site visits will provide opportunity to view secondary tank installation, biofilter installation, and see the project on completion.
This project has received funding from the Victorian Governments Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund, and Melbourne Water as part of the Living Rivers Stormwater Program.
Click here to view an ABC news clip on the project and see the primary tank installation
To stay informed of site visits contact tania.struzina@melbournewater.com.au
