Preserving healthy waterways through integrated water-cycle management

Preserving healthy waterways through

integrated water-cycle management

Roch Cheroux | Managing Director, Sydney Water

In one of Australia’s firsts, Sydney Water will integrate stormwater and recycled water supply across the Mamre Road precinct, part of a $3.5 billion investment over five years to ensure circular economy principles overlay Western Sydney’s greenfield potential.

The Western Parkland City, home of the Aerotropolis and its precincts surrounding the new Western Sydney International Airport, is an opportunity to implement new levels of sustainability, urban amenity and liveability offered by competitive cities worldwide.

At Sydney Water, we see carefully designed blue infrastructure transforming the Western Parkland City, one of the hottest, driest parts of Sydney, into a cool, green, safe and ecologically sustainable city.

This transformation is key to the success of the Aerotropolis’ initial precincts. To help achieve this, Sydney Water will integrate stormwater and recycled-water supply across the Aerotropolis’ pivotal Mamre Road precinct in one of Australia’s firsts. We will invest around $3.5 billion over five years to ensure circular economy principles maximise Western Sydney’s greenfield potential for a sustainable approach to infrastructure, including Mamre Road, which covers 6,500 hectares, an area 10 times the size of Sydney Olympic Park.

Natural creek lines, not concrete

The NSW Government has appointed Sydney Water as the trunk drainage authority for the Aerotropolis, including Mamre Road. In this role, Sydney Water will be responsible for delivering, managing and maintaining the regional stormwater network, along with operating our drinking water, wastewater and recycled water networks.

To meet the NSW Government requirements for waterway health, stormwater will be collected in constructed wetlands where it will be treated and harvested as recycled water and distributed back to the precincts for the irrigation of parks, sports fields, trees and open spaces.

Our plan is for stormwater to flow into natural water channels and wetlands instead of relying on buried concrete pipes or drains. The stormwater will then be collected in constructed wetlands where it will be available to be treated and harvested as recycled water.

By ensuring the creek lines in Western Sydney remain as natural as possible, our Mamre Road plan aligns with Aboriginal cultural values and is a vital part of Recognising Country in the Aerotropolis.

Our role as trunk drainage authority will allow Sydney Water to ensure that stormwater systems within the precincts:

• efficiently meet the new environmental requirements set for the Parkland City waterways,

• recognise Country in the Wianamatta-South Creek

Catchment, and

• harvest stormwater to provide a sustainable source of water for cooling and greening these precincts, where temperatures can be up to four degrees hotter than eastern Sydney. Importantly, by integrating stormwater with recycled wastewater, Sydney Water can provide a climate-independent supply of water to ensure the parkland remains green – even in a drought – drastically minimising water sourced from the nearby Warragamba Dam.

This regional approach allows infrastructure to be placed most efficiently within the precincts to allow development to occur.

The Mamre Road project provides an opportunity to engage with key stakeholders to promote the significance of the transformational approach and our capabilities in stormwater management as we continue to build our relationships in Western Sydney.

For example, Sydney Water will work with Penrith and Liverpool Councils who will manage the stormwater system within the roads and streets across the Mamre Road precinct.

Circular economy ecosystem

Sydney Water is working hard to create a national and global benchmark for Australia’s circular economy ecosystem on one of the largest scales seen to date in Australia, right in the heart of Western Sydney.

Our approach to the circular economy is key to achieving Sydney Water’s goal of net-zero environmental impact across our business by 2030 and delivering the best outcomes for our customers who have told us they want us to take a lead in combating climate change.

We will achieve this, in part, by delivering better outcomes through integrated water solutions that restore and regenerate natural systems, keeping resources in use at their highest value, and economically designing out waste and pollution.

The Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling Centre is another of our projects in the Western Parkland City. It will be our largest investment in water resilience in a decade.

The Centre will use industry-leading water and resource recycling technology and generate an estimated $10 billion in social and economic benefits in Western Sydney through jobs and investment. When it reaches maximum capacity in 2036, it will treat up to 100 million litres of wastewater daily and produce recycled water suitable for a range of uses.

The strategic position of Sydney Water’s Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling Centre at Kemps Creek presents a unique opportunity to activate a broader circular economy ecosystem for the management of water, energy and other resources in this new city.