Decentralised Wastewater Treatment and Recycling in Urban Villages

Decentralised wastewater recycling and irrigation systems have been established with industry partners in Perth urban villages. The project is now monitoring and evaluating these systems for performance and reliability to meet regulatory standards, effects on soil and vegetation, pathogen disinfection, nutrients prevented from infiltration to groundwater or infiltrated and recycled, maintenance issues of the systems and the effective amount of scheme and bore water saved in the long term. Three trial sites were established for the Premier's Water Foundation (PWF) (Bridgewater Lifestyle Village 389 household greywater recycling; Timbers Edge Resort Village 260 houses to common greywater recycling; Banksia Tourist Village 162 park homes to common wastewater treatment) The research team continues to conduct research on other promising sites (Somerville Ecovillage with 104 houses on dry composting toilets and greywater recycling and Tuart Lakes Lifestyle Village with 415 park homes to common wastewater treatment). This paper provides an overview of the results to date from five research topics: completed are a new regulatory framework, a technical elements model, and a new water balance and efficiency rating tool. For the fourth topic, trials found that mosquito control measures are effective. Fifthly, early monitoring results for a zero emissions nutrients (ZEN) model for urban land developments are promising with nutrient leaching within prescribed limits.