Recycled water

How recycled water works

Drinking water is transferred from a reservoir and treated to meet water quality requirements before being piped to your home. Recycled water gets to your home in these steps:

Step 1 - After an initial treatment process, wastewater from your home is further treated at a recycled water plant. It is now suitable to be used for toilet flushing, irrigation or car washing.

Step 2 - Aquifer Storage and Recovery is used to store excess recycled water underground in winter, so that it can be used in summer when demand is high.

Step 3 - Recycled water is then piped back through purple pipes to be reused – saving thousands of litres of valuable drinking water.

What can recycled water be used for?

Recycled water goes through an intensive cleaning process at our treatment plants. It’s a great alternative to using drinking water around the home and garden. You can use recycled water for activities including:

• watering the garden
• washing cars
• doing laundry
• flushing the toilet

How do you know if there is recycled water at your property?

Recycled water is only available in estates where special ‘purple’ coloured taps and pipes have been installed during construction. Storage of recycled water on residential properties is not currently allowed.

If you live in a recently developed estate you will notice a purple tap outside your property.

Some public amenities such as parks and open spaces, fountains and ornamental ponds can also use recycled water.