ABSTRACT
Sustainable use of water resources is an issue which faces many regions throughout the world, particularly in South Australia, the driest state in the driest continent in the world. This paper describes a series of activities, including aquifer storage and recovery, which combine to form the basis of an holistic, sustainable water reuse initiative in Adelaide, SA. The irrigation needs of the US$30m/year horticultural industry in the Virginia Triangle to the north of the city of Adelaide have been matched with the requirements of an Environmental Improvement Programme at the Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant. A 120ML/day Dissolved Air Flotation/Filtration Plant will supply sufficient reclaimed water to the irrigators to meet their increased irrigation requirements, whilst alleviating pressures of over exploitation and salinisation of groundwater supplies and pollution of the current receiving water in the nearby Gulf St. Vincent. Aquifer storage will be practiced during periods of reduced demand in the winter with stored water being recovered the following summer, thus optimising the benefits of this unique and innovative effluent reuse scheme.
