Hunt Club residents Erika, Paul and Bailey Plier are the first people in Victoria to make use of a recycled water facility.
CRANBOURNE is home to the first Victorian house connected to a centralised recycled water scheme.
Hunt Club residents Erika and Paul Plier were helped by Water Minister John Thwaites in turning on the recycled water at their house yesterday (Wednesday).
The Bradford Drive property is the first of about 1200 houses in the Hunt Club that will be fitted with a system that enables recycled water to be used for both inside and outside needs.
This is expected to save about 200 million litres of drinking water each year.
Mr Thwaites said the recycled water initiative was the way of the future for Victoria and would dramatically cut the use of drinking water being used to water the garden, wash the car and flush toilets.
“Recycled water is not subject to the same water restrictions as drinking water, allowing these residents to water their gardens all year round,” Mr Thwaites said.
Bright purple hoses, taps, pipes and meters indicate to residents that the water supply is recycled and not fit for human consumption.
The introduction of recycled water into the Hunt Club is a joint initiative between the State Government, South East Water and the developers of the estate, the Dennis Family Corporation.
With the continued dry climate, increased population and parts of Victoria being severely affected by drought, the recycled water initiative is seen as an integral part of protecting water reserves.
“This project further establishes recycled water as an important resource in Melbourne’s water supplies,” Mr Thwaites said.
Dennis Family Corporation executive chairman Bert Dennis said new residents to the development were helping Melbourne’s water shortages by turning on the purple garden tap.
“By using recycled water for outside use and toilet flushing, residents will reduce their drinking water use by about 40 per cent,” he said.
