rebates and offers to save water and money

Industrial and commercial

Recycled water can be used for industrial processes although potential opportunities are limited.

Of all the drinking water consumed in Sydney only 12 per cent is used by industry. Furthermore, many of the largest industry users are food and beverage companies, which are unable to use recycled wastewater for some of their operational needs due to health and safety.

Nevertheless, the NSW Government has encouraged investigations and investment to supply recycled water to industry where a ready supply source is located nearby.

Around twenty million litres of high quality recycled water a day is being delivered to BlueScope Steel from a new recycled water plant at Sydney Water's Wollongong Sewage Treatment Plant. This is Australia's largest industrial recycling scheme.

There are also smaller industrial schemes around Sydney such as that being developed at the Dunheved Industrial Estate in East St Marys.

In addition to the above projects, the Government had identified a number of ways to increase the use of recycled water by industry. The first of these is the innovative water scheme in the Camellia area near Parramatta. This has the potential to save initially 4.3 billion litres of drinking water a year.

Apart from using wastewater treated at sewage treatment plants and harvesting stormwater, businesses and councils can also gain direct access to untreated wastewater in sewer mines and treat it themselves for their own use or for supply to other customers.

To find out more visit the Sydney Water website or view Chapter 5 of the Plan.