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Purified recycled water
Preparing for tomorrow, today
Sydney Water has been providing world-class water services to Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra for 135 years, but with climate change and an increased demand on our services – we need to think about water differently.
Sydney Water is committed to investigating the use of purified recycled water as a future water source.
Visit the Discovery Centre
Our new Purified Recycled Water (PRW) Discovery Centre at Quakers Hill is open to community.
Sydney Water is offering free tours to learn about where our water comes from, the challenges we currently face in Greater Sydney and our vision for the future, including the role of PRW. Learn all about PRW and see the technology in action.
The PRW Discovery Centre is the first of its kind in NSW and can host small groups, schools, universities/TAFE and community group tours.
Learn more about our primary school excursions and programs.
Learn more about our secondary school excursions and programs.
For enquiries about the PRW Discovery Centres tours please contact: prwdiscoverycentre@sydneywater.com.au
Embracing a sustainable future
Olympic gold medallist, Jess Fox, understands the importance of safeguarding clean drinking water for future generations, especially during severe droughts. At Sydney Water, we are actively preparing for tomorrow, ensuring that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the luxury of clean, accessible water.
Will you stand with us in securing a sustainable future for Greater Sydney?
Purified Recycled Water Discovery Centre
Sydney currently relies on rainfall for over 85% of its water supply, the other 15% comes from desalination. We must ensure we have a sustainable, reliable and safe water supply, that is independent of rainfall. This involves good water planning and looking at a range of water supply options.
Purified recycled water has many environmental and cost saving benefits and could provide up to 25% of water needs across our city by 2056.
We've built a Purified Recycled Water Discovery Centre that will give the community the opportunity to see how the purified recycled water treatment technology works. The Plant will also highlight the safety of this proven technology and the range of environmental and cost benefits of using purified recycled water to supplement our drinking water supply.
The treatment process
Purified recycled water is water recycled from industry and homes (including from kitchens, showers and toilets) that has been purified to meet strict Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling to supplement drinking water sources.
Drinking water made from purified recycled water is triple treated, passing through three different treatment plants before reaching the customer.
Purified recycled water around the world
People have been safely drinking purified recycled water for more than 50 years, all around the world in over 35 cities - including some cities in California, Singapore and Perth in Australia.
Take a deep dive
Watch the video to see Olympic Champion Jess Fox and Sydney Water Ambassador speak with Project Manager James Harrington.
Click on the link below to take a virtual tour of the Quakers Hill Water Resource Recovery Facility and PRW centre. Learn from our experienced Sydney Water production officers as they explain key processes and treatment technology.
This virtual tour was produced and is hosted by the University of New South Wales Chemical Engineering Department.