Stormwater

Stormwater harvesting proves popular amongst the community and its easy to see why – it is a way to make use of a resource that is usually just collected and channelled (via gutters and stormwater pipes), with some treatment, into water ways for disposal.

Rainwater tanks are the most common form of stormwater harvesting. Centralised stormwater harvesting systems are much less common due to their expense. Harvesting stormwater for drinking involves constructing very large storages, treatment plants and many pumps and pipes to transfer the untreated and treated water around the system.

People often have the perception that stormwater is ‘clean’ and doesn’t require much treatment to make it suitable for drinking. However, it actually requires a high level of treatment to bring it up to drinking water quality. Stormwater contains petrochemicals and other pollutants washed in from roadways, as well as pesticides, fertilisers and microorganisms from pet droppings. Harvesting stormwater for drinking was found to be cost prohibitive for our area. However, improvements in technology and cost reductions may make this option more viable in the future.

Stormwater harvesting can be more viable when it is not for drinking purposes and if done on a smaller scale. There are several opportunities throughout our service area for reusing stormwater for irrigation. MidCoast Water does not own or operate the stormwater systems in our service area; this is undertaken by the local councils. There are opportunities for MidCoast Water to work together with the councils to explore and assess stormwater reuse options.

Target

We will liaise with local councils and investigate options for stormwater harvesting for irrigation of public open spaces