The Kings Park Stormwater Harvest Scheme diverts stormwater from a 80 hectare low-density residential catchment to provide an alternative source of water to irrigate the sports fields at Kings Park, Upper Ferntree Gully. The runoff from the catchment is diverted into a large existing quarry lake, which was previously pumped out to stormwater drains on Quarry Road to maintain a safe water level. This water is now transferred to Kings Park, where the water is stored, treated and used for irrigation of sports ovals. The diverted water will be pre-treated to remove sediments then pumped to an above ground 600kL tank which will then be filtered and UV treated prior to being used for irrigation of the sports fields. With four clubs based on site, this is an important site for the local community and other users, it contains a football/cricket oval (with approximately 400 registered participants), an athletics track (400 participants) and three baseball diamonds (over 1,000 participants).
An assessment of the Ground’s water requirements, surrounding catchment and existing drainage infrastructure indicated that up to 18.4ML of stormwater per annum could be captured for reuse.
- Conserve potable water
- Utilise stormwater for irrigation
- Improve stormwater quality
- Reduce peak flows during storm events
- Provide a safe playing surface
- Minimise disruption to organised sports during prolonged drought periods
- Engage the community on the benefits of Integrated Water Cycle Management
- This project will reduce dependence on mains water by harvesting and reusing stormwater from a 80 hectare catchment and save approximately 18.4 ML of water annually.
- The captured water will be used to irrigate sports fields in the Kings Park precinct which have been all converted to warm season grass to further reduce demand for water.
- The project helps Council work towards a 25% reduction in potable water use by 2015.
- Improved the quality of the stormwater entering Ferny Creek by removing litter and sediments.
- Important to have key parts of the system remotely monitored (e.g. pumps, tank levels) to detect and address system faults quickly.
- Major delay in this project was caused by having to negotiate access with VicTrack to place the transfer pipe under the Metropolitan Railway line through an existing Council owned drainage easement. While the easement itself was owned by Council, any works near the railway line required consent and approval from Connex (now Metro) as well as VicTrack.
- The ongoing technical training of sportsground staff is fundamental to the success of the maintenance of the sportsground.
- Engagement of the community should include an understanding of the urban water cycle which highlights - what is stormwater and how it is harvested.
