The bid for Commonwealth funding is comprised of three new projects developed in partnership with the City of Marion and the City of Salisbury and will deliver an extra 1.2 billion litres of stormwater for re-use.

The $A8.4 million Oaklands Park project has been proposed by the City of Marion and is expected to yield 172 million litres of water to be used for irrigating council reserves.

The two projects put forward by the City of Salisbury total $A14 million and include an interconnector to yield up to 700 million litres for non-potable use in industry and a trial system to supply up to 300 million litres of non-potable stormwater to homes in Pooraka.

The bid is consistent with the Government’s Water for Good plan to secure the State’s water future and will take stormwater harvesting well beyond the existing 20 billion litre target.

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Environment and Conservation Minister Jay Weatherill said that stormwater recycling in South Australia was surging ahead following the State’s success in securing $150 million for eight projects in the first round announced in November, 2009.

“Water for Good sets out a clear path for diversifying our water supplies so we can prepare for a future affected by climate change,” Mr Weatherill said.

“That funding is being invested in projects that will help to more than triple our annual stormwater harvest from the current six billion litres to about 20 billion litres,” Mr Weatherill said.