Water-cycle management integral to sustainable urban renewal

The Urban Renewal Authority of Victoria which operates as Places Victoria sought to specify a comprehensive portfolio of best-practice building technologies including an integrated water-cycle management system for The Nicholson project in inner suburban East Coburg. As well as reducing the use of valuable drinking water, the provision of a non-potable water supply at The Nicholson has helped insulate residents from rising costs for water and sewerage.

Nubian installed its CGT5-10A system compromising two biofilters, which treat the organic content of the greywater, and a triple disinfection barrier of ultrafiltration, ultraviolet light and chlorination to ensure recycled water is of the highest quality. With a 10,000 L/day capacity, the system was designed to capture water from showers then treat and re-use the water for toilet flushing and, should residents elect, for laundry use.

Rainwater is also captured for hot water use and garden irrigation which further lowers potable water consumption and significantly reduces the discharge of stormwater to nearby waterways.

Nubian worked closely with the project builders Hickory Developments to synchronise the greywater system’s installation with the construction phase so it had no impact on the project’s completion schedule.

Under the tailored building maintenance agreement, Nubian will meet any servicing, upgrade or expansion requirements of its system at The Nicholson complex.

Water quality and system performance are able to be monitored and controlled remotely by the building manager via both a web browser and an iPhone/iPad app.

It is expected that the Nubian greywater plant will deliver a 30% reduction in potable water consumption.

Residents can easily take advantage of the laundry option by simply connecting to a pre-plumbed ‘third pipe’ outlet in each unit’s laundry and have immediate access to the high-grade, unmetered water supply for clothes washing.

As well as the potable water savings, the treatment and re-use of greywater also reduces, by up to a third, the discharge of wastewater. This is important to the increasingly capacity-constrained sewerage system as urban renewal progresses in The Nicholson’s neighbourhood.