Key water contract extended

30/01/2018

Downer's contract for Victoria’s largest underground water recycling facility contract has been extended.

Downer’s operation and maintenance contract for the award winning Yarra Park Water Recycling Facility (owned by the Melbourne Cricket Club) has been extended by two years.

The facility was originally designed and built by Downer and is Victoria’s largest underground water recycling facility, capable of producing 180 million litres of recycled water annually. The water is primarily re-used as irrigation in Yarra Park, as well as for cleaning and toilet flushing at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Chris Yeats, General Manager from Downer’s Water Services team said: “The contract extension is testament to the collaborative partnership we have with the Melbourne Cricket Club. It has enabled us to set new benchmarks and strengthen our leadership position in the water industry.”

This successful collaboration has seen the plant awarded the first Infrastructure Sustainability Operations (Excellent) rating by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, and also achieved Australia’s first Accredited ISO 55001 Certification for Asset Management.

Quick facts:

• The Yarra Park Recycled Water Recycling Facility is located in a highly sensitive heritage listed park.
• The facility is Victoria’s largest underground water recycling facility.
• Key project drivers dictated that the project should not subtract from the appearance of the grounds or impact on the use of the space for parking during events. This led to the decision to build the plant underground.
• The plant is capable of producing 180 million litres of recycled ‘Class A’ water annually.
• The water is primarily re-used as irrigation in Yarra Park, as well as for cleaning and toilet flushing at the MCG and Punt Road Oval.
• The water recycling process consists of screening and grit removal, biological treatment of the sewage and chemical addition for phosphate removal, filtration via membrane bioreactor and ultra-filtration membrane systems, before finally disinfection via ultraviolet and chlorination.

Click here for more information on the facility.