Rouse Hill - Australiaʼn9s first full scale domestic non-potable reuse application

Abstract

There has been increasing interest in reuse of effluent from sewage treatment plants in Australia in recent years, not only for agricultural or land irrigation purposes but also for the provision of dual water supplies to residential areas for the non-potable purposes of toilet flushing, car washing, garden watering and park or other open space irrigation. The Rouse Hill development in the north west of Sydney is Australiaʼns first full scale application of domestic non-potable reuse, with the sewage treatment plant and the dual water distribution system being commissioned in late 1994. This paper describes the Rouse Hill project as a whole including the reasoning behind the installation of the dual water supply system, the design of the sewage treatment plant, the effluent qualities achieved, the design of the dual water distribution system and the requirements of the regularory authority, the NSW Environmental Protection Authority.