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Sustainability

United Water operates under five guiding principles relating to environmental protection:

  1. Be environmentally responsible.
  2. Improve our communication about the environment.
  3. Protect biodiversity.
  4. Achieve sustainable water management through conservation and reuse strategies.
  5. Commit to continual resource optimisation including waste minimisation, reuse
    and recycling.

Each year we develop and implement an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) that works towards meeting these principles.

United Water offices actively participate in recycling. Annually we recycled approximately 5,000 kilograms of paper across our offices in Australia and New Zealand, saving the destruction of over 600 trees. We also participate in the recycling of newspapers, milk cartons, plastic and glass.

Ongoing programs with significant environmental benefits include:

Wastewater reuse - South Australia is now the national per-capita leader in water reuse, with almost 30 percent of treated water reused in Metropolitan Adelaide each year. The largest reuse scheme is located north of Adelaide, in the Virginia horticultural area. Approximately 200 market gardeners take Class A tertiary treated wastewater from the privately owned Virginia pipeline for direct irrigation of crops. Class A treated wastewater from the Dissolved Air Flotation Filtration (DAFF) tertiary treatment plant at Bolivar is also used for irrigation and toilet flushing at Mawson Lakes, a large-scale residential and industrial development north of Adelaide. At Christies Beach, more than 2,000 ML of treated wastewater is reused annually for irrigation, primarily for grapevines at McLaren Vale and watering of parks and a sports oval adjacent to the plant. United Water is currently working in partnership with SA Water to deliver the Glenelg to Adelaide pipeline, which will deliver recycled wastewater to the Adelaide CBD and surrounding parklands for a variety of uses.

Water tank cleaning - United Water inspects and cleans water storage tanks by employing the services of scuba divers equipped with vacuum hoses. Sediment is collected in tanker trucks for safe disposal into the wastewater network. United Water has cleaned 113 tanks using this method since 2002. This method of cleaning ensures chlorinated water is not discharged into natural waterways through the stormwater system, and meets newly implemented EPA guidelines.

Biosolids reuse -Each year more than 30,000 tonnes of nutrient rich biosolids (treated digested sludge) from the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant, is reused as a soil re-conditioner by South Australian farmers. Biosolids contain organic material and nutrients and when applied properly, can increase soil fertility and improve the water holding capacity of the soil. They have been used with great success on broad acre crops but have also been used on olives, grapevines and citrus. The biosolids are collected from the plant’s stabilisation lagoons each year, air dried, milled and subjected to stringent EPA testing and Department of Human Services requirements to ensure there is no risk to public health and the environment.

Sludge reuse - In Ballarat, United Water has a contract with Ballan Recycling to mix our water treatment sludge with green waste to form a capping for rubbish tips in the area. This capping provides a secure cover over the rubbish and eliminates unsightly odours and views. Over 99 percent of water treatment sludge was reused in this way. Sludge is also reused on horse training arenas provide a safe and consistent surface under foot for the animals.