Vic: Billions of litres of water wasted - report

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2006
Vic: Billions of litres of water wasted - report

MELBOURNE, Aug 26 AAP - The Bracks government has been accused of misleading Victorians
about the amount of water it recycles, with billions of litres dumped into Port Phillip
Bay each year.

After the driest winter in 20 years, the state government will impose stricter restrictions
on water users this summer.

New allegations suggest the government is being dishonest about its water-saving measures,
The Sunday Age reports.

Former Melbourne Water general manager Bill Forrester said the government was indulging
in a "scandalous con job".

"The public are being completely misled about how much water is being recycled," Mr
Forrester said.

The last Melbourne Water annual reports says 11.3 per cent of Melbourne's waste water
was recycled in 2004-05.

But 94.7 per cent of water labelled "recycled" is class C effluent, which has been
recycled at two of Melbourne's water-treatment plants.

The water is not pumped back into the water supply system but flows into the seas or
onto Melbourne Water land at Werribee.

Only 0.6 per cent of Melbourne's water is recycled and used for agriculture and other industries.

"I was in charge of all this when the Bracks government pulled this target of 20 per
cent recycled water by 2010 out of thin air and the decision was made to inflate the existing
percentage by including this internal recycled water," said Mr Forrester, who left Melbourne
Water amicably less than 18 months ago.

Mr Forrester's claims have been supported by the Clean Ocean Foundation.

"Many Melburnians assume our sewage is recycled at Werribee or Carrum," the foundation's
spokesman, Carlo Iacovino, said.

"Many Melburnians assume our sewage is recycled at Werribee or Carrum. The truth is
that every day, over a billion litres is dumped into Port Phillip Bay and into the ocean
at Gunnamatta via environmentally damaging outfalls."

Victorian Water Minister John Thwaites denied the figures were misleading.

"We support Melbourne Water's targets," he said. "And Victoria is on track to meet
its 2020 recycling target."

AAP jat/rs

KEYWORD: RECYCLE

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