Tallowood Development, NSW, Australia

Introduction

A little over an hour’s drive away from Sydney lies the picturesque town of Kurrajong. The region surrounding the township, which sits at the foothills of the Blue Mountains, features a mix of farms and a growing residential precinct for people wanting all the benefits of a country lifestyle, but with reasonable proximity to all Sydney has to offer.

While this sounds idyllic, the town has its challenges – one of which is that it sits beyond Sydney’s public utility reticulated sewer system, with the nearest treatment plant some 10km away. So when a local family decided to subdivide their landholding into smaller blocks for residential development, one of the key considerations that needed to be addressed was having a viable sewer alternative. Thanks to the introduction by the NSW Government of The Water Industry Competition Act in 2006, the developers were able to rely on a private-sector wastewater solution provided by Aquacell.

aquacell and Tallowood

Aquacell has an impressive track record of providing water recycling systems for community projects where the focus is on creating new residential zones, without being limited by the constraints of public utility infrastructure.

For the development at Kurrajong, the availability of a private-sector treatment solution effectively unlocked the potential of the land immediately. If the only option was a public utility, the development could have remained on hold indefinitely for the expansion of infrastructure.

The availability of a robust, proven private-sector solution has significant potential for the provision of new housing in Australia – a huge consequence given the current housing shortage across the nation. That Aquacell can provide a complete wastewater solution to facilitate the development of the land for housing without delay is an important step in solving this housing crisis.

     

    the aquacell solution

    Aquacell designed, manufactured and installed the treatment plant in parallel with the staging of the Tallowood development project.

    One of the big differences between a private-sector solution and a public utility is that the latter usually will tend to ‘upfront’ the cost of their infrastructure which is a significant burden on the developer who has yet to reach a sales phase. Aquacell’s staged approach to costing was much more aligned with the Tallowood developer’s budgeting and sales model, yet the infrastructure provision was exactly the same as a public utility in practical terms. Moreover, Aquacell undertook the regulatory approvals, provided the complete treatment plant and a complete maintenance program to deliver the best service to the new community in a fraction of the time it would take a public utility to complete the project.

    As an off-grid system, the wastewater treatment plant at Tallowood requires additional considerations when compared to a recycled water scheme in a sewered area, where additional redundancy and waste activated sludge handling are key considerations. The Aquacell system at Tallowood incorporates additional buffering capacity and dedicated sludge storage to ensure the plant is operational year-round.

    The wastewater at Tallowood is screened ahead of the buffer tank. From here, it is pumped to the bioreactor where anoxic and aerobic treatment break down the waste, including nitrogen and phosphorous in the water. The biologically treated water is then filtered through submerged ultrafiltration membranes to separate clean water. Treated water is used in a dedicated sub-surface irrigation zone within the development. So the end result is a drought proof, green space available for the whole community.

    The utilisation of an off-grid Aquacell treatment plant has enabled the Tallowood development to grow in line with the development forecasts, whilst unlocking key land for residential development in an area that is constrained by infrastructure limitations.