Alternative Water Supplies

City West Water promotes the use of alternative water by businesses in order to save precious drinking water. City West Water has alternative water available from Recycled Water Standpipes and implemented projects like the Altona Recycled Water project.

To use City West Water alternative water your business must either:

• be in an estate where recycled water is available through special purple coloured taps and pipes
• hold a City West Water Standpipe Permit and End User Permit to collect and use recycled water yourself
• hold a City West Water End User Permit and have recycled water delivered by a City West Water registered recycled water carter
• be a customer of a specific alternative water project.

Recycled water is produced using the wastewater from households, businesses and industry. The wastewater goes through an intensive cleaning process at a treatment plant to become recycled water.

Recycled water is produced in line with strict standards and guidelines developed by the Department of Health and the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) who also monitor the production of recycled water and ongoing quality assurance programs. City West Water regularly tests the quality to ensure standards are being met.

City West Water has around 200 vehicles registered to pick up recycled water from standpipes in Werribee and Hoppers Crossing. These standpipes supply Class A recycled water which can be used for most non-drinking purposes, including vegetable, garden and open space irrigation, dust suppression, animal watering, pressure cleaning and washing cars. Class A recycled water is not approved for filling swimming pools.

We currently supply recycled water from Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant to customers in the Werribee Employment Precinct and Mackillop College for irrigation and other non-drinking purposes.

We are also currently constructing a Recycled Water Treatment Plant at our Altona Treatment Plant which will provide recycled water for the irrigation of nearby golf courses and parklands as well as industrial customer Qenos.

Other alternative water projects we are planning involve the supply of stormwater to businesses close to the source.

Our Supply of Recycled Water:

• saves a significant amount of drinking water in City West Water's service area
• reduces the amount of wastewater discharged to Port Phillip Bay
• provides a safe, alternative water source
• reduces demand on our water catchments
• contributes to the Government’s water recycling target.

Class A Recycled Water Can Be Used For:

• toilet flushing
• garden watering (including use on vegetable gardens)
• municipal irrigation (parks, sporting fields and other public open spaces) 
• general outdoor use, including car washing, construction and washdown
• filling fountains.

• What are City West Water's other alternative water projects?

  City West Water has a range of alternative water projects that have been completed or are currently under investigation/being developed including:

  • Altona Recycled Water Project - supplying recycled water to Industry, golf courses and public open spaces
  • Sunshine Golf Course Sewer Mining Project - supplying recycled water to Sunshine Golf Course
  • Stormwater Harvesting at various locations/customer's businesses
  • Sewer Mining Projects at Yarra Park, Flemington Racecourse and the MCG
  • Werribee Employment Precinct Recycled Water Scheme - supplying recycled water to customers and open spaces in Hoppers Crossing, Werribee and Point Cook.

  See our fact sheet in the right hand column for further information.