Water Use and Reuse Stream Projects
Premier's Water Foundation MAR project
- Determining requirements for managed aquifer
recharge in Western Australia
Halls Head, Mandurah WA
Introduction
The City of Mandurah is working with the
Water Corporation of Western Australia
to develop treated wastewater as an alternate
supply for irrigation purposes. The viability
of different types of managed aquifer recharge
systems are being trialled at Halls Head
Wastewater Treatment Plant. The first R&D
project conducted by Toze et al. (2002)
investigated water quality, pathogen survival
and hydrogeological issues associated with
using infiltration ponds in fractured limestone.
The next stage is to assess the feasibility
of using covered infiltration galleries
that receive tertiary treated effluent
from an Amiad filtration system with a
200 micron stainless steel filter and a
dual bed (anthracite and fine sand) filter.
The design
plan for the infiltration galleries are
similar to the ones at the CSIRO
Floreat site. In an urban environment,
covered infiltration galleries are a more
attractive alternative, particularly where
land is at a premium.
Objectives/Scope
In the Perth region, there is a keen interest
in developing water recycling with managed
aquifer recharge in different sedimentary
deposits. Siting issues related to the
hydrogeology make it imperative that infiltration
designs are trialled at different locations
that are representative of aquifer conditions.
As there is the potential for clogging
of the infiltration galleries, we are monitoring
and comparing flow rates for two types
of designs (gravel and the Atlantis system)
and where possible, determining management
controls that will reduce clogging.
Activities
- Installation of the infiltration galleries
by Water Corporation and commissioning
of the Amiad filtration system in January
2005
- Installation of monitoring bores in
March 2005
- Monitoring of water quality, including
pathogens, nutrients, and chemicals of
concern
- Investigating technologies and management
approaches to allow sustainable infiltration
- Assessing operating characteristics
and reliabilities of the two methods
(gravel and the Atlantis system)
- Contributing to the knowledge base
on managed aquifer recharge in different
hydrogeological settings (karstic limestone
and sand aquifers).
Key Staff
Simon
Toze, Elise
Bekele
Partners
Water
Corporation in Western Australia,
Curtin University, University of Western
Australia, Chemistry Centre WA and Centre
for Ground Water Studies
Timeline
2005-2008
Figure 1: The skid-mounted Amiad filter
system (left), and a view of the two
inspection ports for the infiltration
galleries (right). The filtration system
and galleries were commissioned in January
2005
Figure 2: Arial photo of the Halls
Head WWTP, showing the location of the
infiltration ponds that were trialled
during the first phase of the project
and the location of the covered infiltration
galleries. Six monitoring bores will
be installed in close proximity to the
galleries in March 2005
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