First drop delivered in councils’ $13m water harvesting project

A water harvesting project aimed at delivering cheap recycled water to schools and businesses finally began to trickle at Vale Park this week — three years after it was started.

The water harvesting project is finally delivering water five years after work on the project first started.

• ERA Water gets the nod

The first drop has been delivered by a united Adelaide council water harvesting system.

Eastern Regional Alliance Water began the trickle at Vale Park, in Walkerville Council territory.

Involving the Burnside and Norwood, Payneham & St Peters councils, as well as Walkerville, the project began in 2015.

It captures and reuses stormwater through 40km of pipes, three pumping stations and a treatment site at Marden.

When fully operational, it will deliver cheap, recycled water to schools and businesses.

Three council subsidiary, ERA Water, has delivered its first drop more than three years after the project was launched. Picture: File.

ERA Water chairman Bryan Jenkins told the Eastern Courier 14 parks and reserves were currently being connected to the shared irrigation supply system, under its first stage.

Six are in Burnside, five in NP&SP, and three in Walkerville.

The list of selected sites includes Webb Oval, Penfold Park, Bridge Reserve and Dunstan Adventure Park.

The volume of water needed at each location is being co-ordinated through the three councils.

“Volumes to each reserve are under discussion,” Mr Jenkins said.

“Eighty-six megalitres has been injected into the aquifer.”

All three councils are holding meetings with the ERA as the project develops.

Mr Jenkins has predicted the project would suffer a $546,000 loss in 2018/19 because costs had been “substantially higher” than first predicted.

He said it could take five years for the project to be fully sustainable.

The councils borrowed $12.85m to underwrite the initiative.