North Canberra Water Reuse Scheme (NCWRS)

The NCWRS scheme began as a pilot in 1972 and was commissioned on a large scale in 2004.

ActewAGL, on behalf of ACTEW, operates and maintains the NCWRS and has an extensive ongoing monitoring program in place to ensure the use of recycled water meets necessary requirements.

How the Reuse Scheme works

The scheme treats wastewater at the Fyshwick Sewage Treatment Plant (FSTP) before being pumped to the North Canberra Water Reuse Facility (NCWRF) for further treatment. Once fully treated the water is pumped up to the Lower Russell Hill water reservoir.

From 1972 to 1999 treated wastewater from the FSTP was used to water 40 hectares of the golf course and sports grounds at the Royal Military College Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy.

New treatment facilities (the Water Reuse Facility) were commissioned in 2004 to comply with the 1999 ACT Effluent Reuse Guidelines.

Prior to connecting customers, an extended testing period was undertaken to guarantee high quality targets for the recycled water were met. The quality of the recycled water meets stringent environmental and public health requirements established by the Environment Protection Authority and ACT Health.

After this testing, the scheme started delivering water for irrigation to seven sites totalling 70 hectares across North Canberra.

Fyshwick Sewage Treatment Plant

The Fyshwick Sewage Treatment Plant (FSTP) partially treats some of the industrial and domestic sewage from the industrial area of Fyshwick and adjacent suburbs. The treatment process consists of mechanical coarse screening, primary sedimentation tanks, trickling filters, humus tanks, maturation lagoons, emergency storage lagoon, and sludge digesters.

Digested sludge is diluted with non-potable water and returned to the main sewer. Effluent from the final maturation lagoon is also pumped to the mains sewer for full treatment at Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre (LMWQCC).

North Canberra Water Reuse Facility

The North Canberra Water Reuse Facility (NCWRF) was developed as part of the North Canberra Effluent Reuse Scheme to filter FSTP lagoon effluent to supply irrigation water for fields in North Canberra. Partially treated effluent from the lagoons is passed through an ultrafiltration treatment process at approximately 20 litres per second.

The filtered effluent flows into a balance tank from which it is pumped into a reservoir. Filtered effluent is disinfected by dosing with gaseous chlorine into the rising main downstream of the balance tank. The treated effluent is produced to a high quality as required by strict Environmental and Health guidelines.

The new treatment facility cost about four million dollars and can deliver up to 500 megalitres per year of high quality recycled water.

Lower Russell Reservoir

The treated effluent from the NCWRF is pumped into the Lower Russell Reservoir, which supplies the irrigation water for various North Canberra water reuse sites including ovals, playing fields and a golf course.

The Lower Russell Reservoir is also supplied with potable water from the Upper Russell Reservoir as a backup supply source if required. The scheme is monitored and controlled remotely at LMWQCC.