Innovative stormwater harvesting project

Yarra Valley Water has won the support of both the Federal Government and the Stormwater Industry Association for a highly significant project – a plan to capture and treat stormwater on commercial land north of Melbourne.


For more details read the article that appeared in the Summer 2010 Water Matters

The Kalkallo Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse Project will be located at the new Merrifield development on the Hume Highway and the water sensitive approach will be a leading example for future cities.

The stormwater will be collected via traditional stormwater drains throughout a 160 hectare catchment area. It will then be treated in a number of wetlands and settling ponds before being stored in a large dam at Merrifield.

Innovative approach
The project demonstrates an innovative approach to solving common urban water issues and managing water resources in the face of ongoing drought and climate change. It is hoped that in future the treated stormwater may even supplement the area’s drinking water supply and reduce pressure on Melbourne’s water storages.

The stormwater harvesting project will:

• reduce the volume of imported water by up to 90%
• decrease the urban run off into local streams by 45% above best practice
• decrease the nutrients discharged into local streams by 25% above requirements and
• recover the upfront capital and ongoing operational costs within 25 years.

Attracting awards
The project’s innovative solutions were recognised when Yarra Valley Water was awarded more than $9.6million in funding from the Federal Government’s ‘Water for the Future – National Urban Water and Desalination Fund’. The project also won the ‘Master-planning and design’ category of the 2009 Stormwater Excellence Awards.