Recycled Water Strategy

This expansion is part of an overall staged approach for the region which allows for adaptation in line with changes in future use. The proposed project incorporates storage, pump stations and around 6.5 KM of pipeline for customer connections. Please see the map below for an outline of the proposed extension of the alignment.

Council's recycled water team is meeting with landholders along the proposed extension alignment to gain a clearer understanding of potential use of the increased water capacity.

The Fraser Coast recycled water scheme will expand to cater for population growth, while infrastructure improvements will cut almost $12 million from the capital expenditure budget over the next decade.

The expansion of the award-winning effluent re-use scheme is the focus of the Recycled Water Strategy adopted by the Fraser Coast Regional Council today (Wednesday, 22 February).

“Our aim is to have most of the effluent created on the Fraser Coast used in some type of agriculture ranging from sugar cane to hardwood plantations,” Cr David Lee said.

“We’d only think about discharging to the ocean in very wet years, and even then, we’d be aiming to minimise the amount.”

During the development of the strategy, Council was able to pinpoint savings.

“The Strategy identifies that infrastructure optimisation over the 30-year life of the plan will allow for a reduction in capital expenditure in the 10-year plan from $33.4M to $21.8M for recycled water infrastructure projects,” Cr Lee said.

The Fraser Coast recycled water scheme started in 1990 in Hervey Bay, followed by Maryborough in 2003.

Currently Fraser Coast residents use about 9,000ML per year of potable water, of which about 5,000ML is recycled for a variety of agricultural and community purposes such as irrigating sporting fields.

Key recommendations and findings of the Strategy include:

• The community highly values Council’s recycled water activities from resource and environmental management perspectives.
• Existing recycled water customers highly value access to this resource for irrigation of agriculture and sporting facilities.
• Economic analysis indicates a favourable cost-benefit to the community by avoided cost of Sewage Treatment Plant upgrades.
• Environmental sustainability reviews indicate recycled water use is sustainable, however salinity requires ongoing management.
• Continuation of Council-owned forestry will be required to manage recycled water during low third-party demand periods.

Key infrastructure requirements identified in the Strategy include:

• Expansion of the Hervey Bay Recycled Water network on Vanderwolf Road, followed by further expansion across Susan River or west to Stock Yard Creek area (Takura) in 2036, including an additional 1,425 ML storage.
• Expansion of the Maryborough Recycled Water network in a westerly direction, including an additional 300ML storage.
• Continue existing project to connect Recycled Water to Council owned land on Beelbi Creek Road and establish irrigation areas.
• Continue existing project at Howard to establish new irrigation areas in conjunction with new Sewage Treatment Plant.

The full Fraser Coast Recycled Water Strategy will be added to the Document Linrary on the Engagement Hub project page shortly.

The development of the Fraser Coast Recycled Water Strategy continues along projected timelines.

Stakeholders were consulted in March and April 2022, and an options paper is currently being developed from the feedback provided by these key stakehodlers, with the values and positioning paper developed in 2020 also informing the draft strategy.

It is expected that a draft strategy will be presented to Council for consideration in late September or October 2022.

Consultants RMCG, a multi-disciplinary consultancy specialising in environment, agriculture and communities, have been appointed to undertake the drafting of the Fraser Coast Recycled Water Strategy, and consultations with existing and large-usage stakeholders have commenced.

It is expected the consultations will be completed around the middle of April (prior to Easter), and that the first draft of the strategy will be ready for internal review by early June 2022.

If you are a new, large-usage or potentially large-usage industry representative who has not yet been contacted by Council’s water re-use project team, please get in contact with us at community@frasercoast.qld.gov.au and entitle the email "Recycled Water Strategy" by 15 April 2022.

Project Update - Monday 26/10/20

Community engagement for Phase 1 has now concluded. Thank you for taking the time to contribute to the first Phase of this project. We are now evaluating the feedback to be included in the position paper. We will have more information available on Phase 2 (Development of the Strategy - including further community engagement) in early 2021.

Community Development and Engagement Team
Fraser Coast Regional Council

T 1300 79 49 29 | E community@frasercoast.qld.gov.au

14 September 2020

Have your say on recycled water use on the Fraser Coast

Fraser Coast residents are being encouraged to have their say on the use of recycled water.

Cr Paul Truscott said Fraser Coast Regional Council was updating its Recycled Water Strategy and wanted to know what was important to the community on the issue.

“Fraser Coast Regional Council is a national leader in maximising our recycled water use and, as a result, minimising the outflow of nutrients into the Great Sandy Straits,” he said.

“Our recycled water scheme, which has been in place for more than 25 years, routinely uses 90 to 100 per cent of the Fraser Coast’s treated wastewater for uses such as irrigation for sugar cane crops, golf courses, turf farms and sporting fields, to name a few examples.

“We also have the largest local government owned hardwood plantation scheme for recycled water reuse in Australia with about 526 hectares under drip irrigation.

“With the Fraser Coast’s population expected to grow significantly over the next 20 to 30 years, volumes of effluent will increase which can be recycled and managed in different ways.

“Over the next few months, Council will be putting together a position paper to inform the development of a Fraser Coast Recycled Water Strategy and we want to know the community’s values, how they would like to see the water used and where there is demand.

“We have established a dedicated project page on our Engagement Hub website - https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/recycled-water-strategy - which includes a survey and the opportunity to make a submission.

“Targeted stakeholder sessions will also be held as part of the community engagement.

“We encourage everyone to take the opportunity to have their say with the survey open until Sunday 11 October 2020.”

In addition to developing a Recycled Water Strategy, Council is also reviewing its biosolids strategy with more details available at https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/biosolids-strategy

The preparation of the Recycled Water Strategy follows Council’s decision to approve a major upgrade of the Pulgul Sewage Treatment Plant over the next five years to cater for population growth on the Fraser Coast.

ENDS