Stormwater And Solar Power To Drought-Proof Sydney Sports Park

A solar-powered water recycling project has been launched by Sydney’s Blacktown City Council, capturing stormwater for sports field irrigation at Blacktown International Sportspark.

Blacktown International Sportspark covers a huge area, hosts more than 5,000 events and attracts over 750,000 visitors a year.

The $6.2 million project will see stormwater flowing down Angus Creek captured, filtered and piped to the Sportspark and neighbouring Anne Aquilina, Kareela, Charlie Bali and Nurragingy reserves.

“It makes sense to use stormwater on sports fields when billions of litres flow past the BISP each year and would otherwise flow down Angus Creek, into Eastern Creek and then out to sea at Broken Bay via the Hawkesbury-Nepean,” said Mayor of Blacktown City Stephen Bali.

Water will only be harvested during storms, so the environmental flow in the creek is not altered.

The water is collected in a dam where it settles, pumped through a steel mesh cage that acts as filter and then into storage ponds. Water then flows into a wetland system that removes excess nutrients, metals and hydrocarbons. From there, the water is pumped through a mechanical filter and held in storage tanks, ready for use by the Sportspark and reserves. The finished product is five times cleaner than the required water quality standards for irrigation says the mayor.

All this pumping would require a significant amount of energy, but Council says it will be fully offset by solar panels. Details of the system used weren’t available at the time of publishing.

As well as preserving mains water, Mayor Bali says Council will see a long term financial saving of around 10 per cent compared with using mains water for irrigation. The project will also enable the Sportspark and reserves to be irrigated during periods of water restrictions.

There will also be a positive impact on Angus Creek and downstream Eastern Creek, by reducing the level of stormwater related nutrients, pollutants and erosion; creating more favourable conditions for native species. The Angus Creek catchment is 655 hectares and generates about 2 billion litres of stormwater runoff from rooftops, roads and other hard surfaces a year.

Little is mentioned on Council’s site about its other efforts involving solar energy, but according to the SunWiz database, there’s a 50kW system installed at the Council’s main works depot, a 11.5kW solar panel array at the Bungarribee Community Hub and a 50kW solar power system at the Rooty Hill works depot.

Blacktown City Council is the midst of preparing a new Climate Change Action Plan to reflect its increased commitment to slashing emissions and enhancing sustainability. The new plan will be unveiled in December this year.