RECHARGE sites in Neerabup and Wanneroo will be part of the second stage of the state’s groundwater replenishment scheme.
Announcing an advanced water recycling plant contract had been awarded Water Minister Dave Kelly said about 170 jobs would be created in stage two of the groundwater replenishment scheme in Craigie.
The advanced water recycling plant forms part of the wider $262 million expansion project, which also includes a 13km pipeline extending to the north-east of the plant as well as the recharge sites in Wanneroo and Neerabup.
Construction is expected to begin this month and take about two years to complete.
Mr Kelly said groundwater replenishment was the process where secondary treated wastewater undergoes advanced treatment to produce recycled water.
“This water, which is now of drinking quality, is then recharged into an aquifer,’’ he said.
“The water will remain in the aquifer for decades before it is drawn out at another location, treated at a water treatment plant and added to the water supply scheme.’’
The advanced water recycling plant is an integral part of the Water Corporation’s expansion of the groundwater replenishment scheme.
The plant will have the capacity to recharge up to 14 billion litres of extra water each year to groundwater supplies.
Stage one of the groundwater replenishment scheme in Craigie is now complete and water recharge from the first plant is already happening. The plant has the capacity to recharge up to 14 billion litres of water a year.
Mr Kelly said about 170 local workers would be employed, with 90 per cent of work to be sub-contracted or supplied by Western Australian businesses.
“The south-west of our State continues to be impacted by climate change, and groundwater replenishment is a key project in the Water Corporation’s plans to secure water supplies in response to the drying climate.
“When the expansion is complete, the groundwater replenishment scheme in Craigie will have the capacity to recharge up to 28 billion litres of water a year – enough to supply up to 100,000 Perth households.”
