Service difficulties
and emergency
service: 13 20 90

Printer friendly versionShrink textEnlarge text

Recycling water for irrigation

By 2015, recycling will provide 12% of greater Sydney's water needs.

Success story

"The (PGA Tour) week was fantastic. Everyone raved about the golf course. I can tell you without a doubt that the water made all the difference. The fairways on the eastern side of the course are always difficult to keep well grassed and green and are always the first to go and the last to recover. With the help of the recycled water, those fairways are as good as I have ever seen them. You just cannot comprehend how much better they are!" - Mike Harbon, Project Manager, Wollongong Golf Club

Map of recycled water irrigation schemes in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra. Click to enlarge
Map of recycled water irrigation
schemes in Sydney, the Blue
Mountains and the Illawarra.
Click to enlarge (PDF - 942KB)

Using recycled water for irrigation helps to save our precious drinking water.

Irrigation schemes are designed to deliver the right amount of recycled water to keep farms, sportsgrounds, parks, golf courses and public areas in good condition, without over watering.

Using recycled water for irrigation also helps to provide valuable nutrients for plant growth, reducing the need to use chemical fertilisers.

Treating recycled water

Recycled water is treated so it's safe to use. There are many steps involved in treating recycled water for use on farms, sports fields, parks and golf courses. This may include biological treatment, sand filtration, micro-filtration, chlorination and ultraviolet disinfection.

Recycled water irrigation schemes

The amount of recycled water used in greater Sydney varies, depending on the weather and other factors. Sydney Water supplies about 3.8 billion litres of recycled water a year for irrigating farms, golf courses, sportsgrounds, parks and a racecourse.

Current recycled water irrigation schemes and their 2008-2009 recycled water usage include:

Types of recycled water irrigation schemes Customers 2008-2009
recycled
water
use (ML)
Farms Aorangi Farm - Gerroa 111
Carlton Farm, Picton 422
Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Menangle 405
West Camden Agricultural Release 2,100
Parks and sportsgrounds Penrith City Council sportsgrounds (Stage 1) 20
Warwick Farm Racecourse 47
University of Western Sydney - Hawkesbury Campus 189
Wollongong City Council sportsgrounds2 NA
Camden Council sportsgrounds2 NA
Golf courses Ashlar Golf Club 90
Castle Hill Country Club 111
Dunheved Golf Club 68
Kiama Golf Club 97
Liverpool Golf Club 43
Richmond Golf Club 88
Wollongong Golf Club1 3

1This recycled water scheme began operating in February 2009.

2This recycled water scheme began operating in December 2009.