Water treatment from pump to paddock

It is a truth universally acknowledged that water is a precious resource. As our nation grows and as water becomes more scarce, the journey to fill our water glasses, water our crops and fill our bathtubs is becoming more complex.
Water management is more important than ever in ensuring water reaches our farms, our towns and our cities. Wastewater treatment systems are playing a vital role in converting unusable water by-product from industries, such as coal seam gas, into a beneficial water supply.

The Kenya water treatment plant in Chinchilla, Queensland, treats up to 92 million litres, or 37 Olympic swimming pools, of saline water each day. This is one complex maze of water purification. However, the fascinating part of the story is what happens to the millions of litres of water after this treatment. The water that was once ‘unusable’ is now a useful asset to the region’s agriculture industry.

Following a rigorous water purification process, the millions of litres of water treated at Kenya each day are pumped up to 40 kilometres downstream to vital water sources, including local farms and a small town. This infographic explores the wastewater treatment process and shows how the Chinchilla plant takes recycling to a whole new level.