Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme. Fairfield Recycled Water Plant

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1 Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme Fairfield Recycled Water Plant

2 Front cover Aerial view of foundation customer sites at Rosehill and Camellia

3 The project The Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme is a private sector project that supplies recycled water for industry and irrigation in western Sydney. This scheme is one of the water recycling projects under the NSW Government s Metropolitan Water Plan. The scheme will initially supply over three billion litres of high quality recycled water each year to five major industrial customers and a racecourse in the Rosehill and Smithfield areas: Shell Refining (Australia) LyondellBasell Australia Boral Australian Gypsum Australian Turf Club - Rosehill Gardens Racecourse Marubeni Australia Power Services Visy Paper Construction started in November 2009 and recycled water started being supplied to customers in late October The scheme has been designed for future demand and has the potential to supply a further four billion litres a year for additional commercial customers in Westmead, Parramatta and Wetherill Park. Scheme background The Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme involves the public and private sectors, working together to deliver recycled water to customers. The water recycling plant at Fairfield was built and is owned and operated by Veolia Water. AquaNet Sydney built and owns the pipelines and operates the recycled water supply network. Sydney Water is the retailer and purchases the recycled water from AquaNet Sydney and sells it to the six foundation customers. The foundation customers have recycled water supply agreements with Sydney Water. AquaNet Sydney will retail recycled water directly to future customers. AquaNet Sydney and Veolia Water have obtained the required licences to operate the scheme and provide the recycled water to Sydney Water under the NSW Government s Water Industry Competition Act (WICA) WICA establishes a clear access and licensing regime for the water industry and gives more opportunities for the private sector to become involved. The Rosehill scheme is the first under the Act. Benefits of recycled water Saves large amounts of drinking water, helping to support a sustainable water supply for the future Is a reliable, alternative water supply for irrigation and industrial processes Can help reduce the amount of nutrients from treated wastewater entering the ocean, creeks and rivers

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5 Customers of the Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme Shell Refining (Australia) Shell s Clyde Refinery in Rosehill supplies about 40 percent of Sydney s petroleum requirements and about 50 percent of New South Wales needs. Each year, the refinery produces over 4 billion litres of petroleum products including petrol, diesel fuel, jet fuel, bitumen and LPG. Recycled water will initially be used at Shell s Clyde Refinery in their Demineralisation and Softened Water Plants, significantly reducing the demand on Sydney s drinking water supplies. LyondellBasell Australia LyondellBasell s Clyde Plant (Rosehill) was commissioned in The plant produces up to 170,000 tonnes of polypropylene each year. Polypropylene is used as a base to produce automotive parts, furniture, packaging, housewares and appliance components. LyondellBasell has developed measures to conserve water at their Rosehill site. Recycled water will be used as the main supply of cooling water for the process plant, which operates 24 hours a day. Boral Australian Gypsum Boral Plasterboard Camellia manufactures and distributes plasterboard, including its associated products and systems, to the Australian building industry. Boral Plasterboard is part of Boral Limited, Australia's largest building and construction materials supplier with operations in all states and territories. Boral Limited also has significant operations in Asia and the USA. Boral is committed to continued efficiency in the use of natural resources throughout all of its operations. The use of recycled water will significantly reduce the reliance on drinking water in the plasterboard manufacturing process at Boral s Camellia site. Rosehill Gardens Racecourse As one of Australia s premier racing venues, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse hosts prestigious racing events and accommodates more than 350 horses, trained by some of New South Wales top trainers. Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is also focusing on sustainable practices including using recycled water to irrigate the racetrack. This will help to ensure that racing surfaces are kept in good condition throughout the year, especially during the warm summer months. Marubeni Australia Power Services Marubeni s Smithfield Energy Facility is a 160 megawatt cogeneration power plant, which generates electricity for the Endeavour Energy Network and provides thermal energy, in the form of steam, to Visy s pulp and paper mill in Smithfield. Marubeni will significantly reduce the use of drinking water by using recycled water for all the plants industrial processes, which are currently supplied by drinking water. The recycled water will be used to supply make-up water to the power plant s cooling tower, heat recovery steam generators and plant cleaning systems. Visy Paper Visy s pulp and paper mill in Smithfield was commissioned in the 1980s. The mill produces high quality recycled paper used for packaging. Visy is now able to reduce its use of drinking water at the mill by using recycled water in paper production processes for various applications including chemical dilutions, cleaning and lubrication sprays.

6 Recycled water Where does recycled water come from? Recycled water comes from wastewater - water that has been used before in bathrooms, laundries, kitchens and businesses. Most recycled water in Sydney and the Illawarra is produced at Sydney Water recycling plants. Wastewater is more than 99% water Recycled water in Sydney and the Illawarra Sydney Water runs 13 water recycling plants in Sydney and the Illawarra. All the plants use multiple steps to treat wastewater so it can be safely used again. Recycled water is treated to a standard suitable for its intended use. Homes and businesses in residential recycled water areas use recycled water for watering gardens, flushing toilets and washing cars. Recycled water can be used for irrigating farms, parks, sports fields, golf courses and racecourses, and in industry for cooling towers, boilers, some manufacturing processes and dust suppression. It can be used for firefighting and for some construction purposes. The St Marys Water Recycling Plant provides highly treated recycled water to help maintain river flows, saving drinking water in Warragamba Dam. Marubeni Australia Power Services will use recycled water in its cooling tower at Smithfield

7 Fairfield Recycled Water Plant The Fairfield Recycled Water Plant will initially provide over three billion litres of recycled water each year to six major customers in western Sydney. The high quality recycled water produced at the Fairfield plant is suitable to use in cooling towers, boilers and some manufacturing processes, as well as for irrigation and firefighting. The recycled water distribution network runs through 15 suburbs in the four local government areas of Fairfield, Bankstown, Holroyd and Parramatta. The main recycled water pipeline from the plant to customers sites was built under major roads and public reserves. Part of this pipeline utilised existing gas mains that are no longer in use, minimising the impact on the surrounding environment and community. Veolia Water operator inspects an ion exchange valve at the plant Hundreds of reverse osmosis units at Fairfield Recycled Water Plant are used to produce high quality recycled water Fairfield Recycled Water Plant produces over three billion litres of recycled water each year

8 How does the plant work? The new water recycling plant has been built to produce high quality recycled water, using ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis processes. Secondary treated wastewater is extracted from the Liverpool to Ashfield pipeline. The wastewater first passes through coarse and fine strainers on its way to the ultrafiltration process. This pretreatment process removes any particles of organic matter that may still be present. It is collected in a feedwater storage tank, which ensures there is a constant supply for the plant. Ultrafiltration is the next stage in the process. The wastewater is pumped into a tank filled with ultrafiltration membrane fibres with microscopic pores. A vacuum is applied to the membranes to suck the wastewater through the semi-permeable membranes. Suspended solids, bacteria and some viruses are blocked. The fibres capture any particle larger than 0.2 microns in diameter. As a guide, bacteria are typically larger than one micron, or a millionth of a metre. Wastewater that has passed through the ultrafiltration process is then forced at high pressure through even finer barriers of the reverse osmosis units. The process removes the dissolved and remaining microscopic particles to produce high-purity water. The reverse osmosis membranes are like very fine sieves. Coiled inside each reverse osmosis cylinder is a fine polymer membrane that blocks particles larger than micron, removing viruses, nutrients, chemicals, dissolved metals and salts. The water produced by reverse osmosis is similar to distilled water and meets stringent NSW Health standards. Next, the recycled water goes through the ion exchange process. The purpose of ion exchange is to polish the recycled water to further reduce ammonia levels in the water. Water recovered from the ion exchange process is pumped through to the degassers. The degassers reduce the carbon dioxide in the water. The water is then temporarily stored in the recycled water collection tank. The ph level of the water is then adjusted and disinfected. Chlorination neutralises any remaining bacteria and viruses and provides disinfection in the network. The recycled water is then pumped through a network of pipes to two reservoirs at Guildford and Rosehill, where the water is stored until customers use it. Strict control measures are in place to ensure the quality of recycled water produced at the Fairfield plant meets all relevant health and regulatory guidelines required by NSW Health, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and Office of Environment and Heritage. Inside each reverse osmosis cylinder is a fine polymer membrane that blocks particles larger than microns

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10 Water quality Guidelines and regulatory requirements The Fairfield Recycled Water Plant produces recycled water to meet the standards outlined in the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling: Managing Health and Environmental Risks (Phase ) (AGWR). IPART is the regulator of the WICA licences that both AquaNet Sydney and Veolia Water require to operate the recycled water plant and network. NSW Health advises and regulates on the health aspects of recycled water use and quality. AquaNet Sydney is responsible for making sure the quality of recycled water and the water supply systems are maintained to continuously meet the required water quality standards. The responsibilities of individual recycled water customers are also outlined in the guidelines. Water quality parameters The recycled water produced at the Fairfield plant must meet strict water quality indicators of key parameters including total dissolved solids, ph, chlorine and turbidity. Total dissolved solids are monitored to ensure the plant s membranes are effectively removing unwanted particles and bacteria from the water. ph indicates the water s acidity or alkalinity. Chlorine is added to recycled water to kill bacteria. Turbidity is the level of cloudiness in the water and shows how effective the treatment process is in removing particles. Fairfield Recycled Water Plant Parameter Units Water quality target Recycled water product failure limit Total Dissolved Solids mg/l < ph ph units < 6.0 and > 9.0 Chlorine residual mg/l 1 < 0.7 and > 5.0 Turbidity NTU < These parameters are monitored continuously with on-line instrumentation.

11 Monitoring, testing and reporting The quality of the recycled water supplied to customers is monitored at all stages of production and distribution. Safety processes at the Fairfield Recycled Water Plant include: continuous online monitoring of key water quality parameters periodic sampling and analysis of additional water quality parameters daily process and equipment checks 24/7 alarm response system The monitoring system and other safeguards, together with operational protocols, prevent recycled water being supplied to customers if quality control standards are not met. The Fairfield Recycled Water Plant is regularly audited to ensure it delivers a consistent high quality of recycled water to customers. A combination of online monitoring results and water quality samples are regularly supplied to a NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia) certified laboratory for examination and testing. The results of the water quality monitoring are provided to Sydney Water, NSW Health and IPART.

12 To know more To know more about recycled water, contact Sydney Water: Phone: Visit: sydneywater.com.au under Water4Life / Recycling The NSW Government s Metropolitan Water Plan outlines the water management approach for Sydney. More information is available on the NSW Government website, SW122 12/11