Wamuran Irrigation Scheme using Class A recycled water to produce fruit near Brisbane
By Jennifer Nichols
ABC Rural
Topic:Agriculture
23m ago23 minutes agoTue 1 Apr 2025 at 10:47pm
A man crouches in front of a pineapple crop with some of the Glass House Mountains behind him.
Pinata Farms' Gavin Scurr says the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme will ensure certainty of supply. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
In short: The $120 million Wamuran Irrigation Scheme is using Class A recycled water to irrigate horticultural crops.
It is rediverting treated water that used to be discharged into the Caboolture River.
What's next: The UnityWater project is designed to help farmers through future periods of drought and reduce nutrient discharge into waterways.
More than 2 billion litres a year of nutrient-rich, treated effluent water will be diverted to crops instead of rivers and the ocean after a $120 million irrigation project secured final approval in south-east Queensland.
After 10 years of planning, two years of construction, and rigorous testing by Queensland's Department of Health, the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme has begun providing recycled water to pineapple, berry and turf crops.
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The Unitywater project aims to benefit farmers, ratepayers, rivers, the ocean and the economy.
Owned by the Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa councils, the statutory authority supplies drinking water and maintains 17 sewage treatment plants.
This is the first time it has used recycled water to help farmers produce food.
An old quarry site used for water storage.
The former Moodlu Quarry is now being used as a balancing facility to store recycled water. (Supplied: Unitywater)
A 22-kilometre-long pipeline was constructed to transport Class A treated wastewater from the South Caboolture sewage treatment plant.
It is pumped to the Moodlu quarry storage facility, then onto farmland north-west of Brisbane.
A big irrigator boom spreading water on a paddock of turf.
Twin View Turf's Lawrence Stephenson says the recycled water has changed the way it can farm. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
The irrigation scheme will divert more than 2.6 gigalitres (2.6 billion litres) of recycled water annually.
Previously, it was discharged into the Caboolture River, flowing into Pumicestone Passage and Moreton Bay, a nutrient-sensitive environment under increasing pressure from urbanisation.
Two workers in high vis near the brown coloured Caboolture river.
Unitywater staff have been working on projects to improve the health of the Caboolture River. (Supplied: Unitywater)
Unitywater chief executive Anna Jackson said she didn't want people to get the wrong idea of what was being discharged, "which is clear, highly treated water".
But she said it would divert a nutrient load of 11,000 tonnes of nitrogen and nearly 2,000 tonnes of phosphorous annually to be used as nutrient-rich irrigation water on farmland.
"The alternative for us was to build a longer pipe that would have led to an ocean outfall for longer-term population growth," Ms Jackson said.
In Australia, wastewater is usually discharged to waterways or oceans via pipelines.
A smiling woman with suburbia behind her
Anna Jackson says the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme is a "win-win" for farmers, ratepayers and the environment. (Supplied: Unitywater)
The fast-growing region in the state's south east is expected to double its population from 520,000 to 1 million by 2040.
Every extra flushed toilet and tap turned in kitchens and bathrooms puts pressure on sewage infrastructure.
A man smiles next to a load of pallots with turf being irrigated behind him.
Peter Flannery says the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme plans for future growth. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
In a recent visit to Singapore, Moreton Bay City Mayor Peter Flannery was impressed by how it reused what is described as "new water."
He said horticulture played a significant role in Moreton Bay's economy by producing crops, including strawberries, raspberries, pineapples, avocados and turf.
Water a precious resource
Just a small proportion of Australian agricultural irrigation comes from recycled water.
But Queensland government climate modelling indicates droughts will increase in both frequency and duration by 2059.
"It's a great use of something that's a natural asset that we usually get rid of," Councillor Flannery said.
Young pineapples and an irrigation spoke.
The recycled water will be withheld from the pineapples within a month of harvest. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
For Pinata Farms general manager Gavin Scurr, it provides security to produce pineapples and berries, whatever the weather.
"We're in a wet period at the moment, but it will be dry again soon, and whenever it's dry, water is always a challenge," Mr Scurr said.
"It limits our production, and it limits our ability to deliver consistent fruit to consumers.
"And what this scheme does is it underpins the water supply."
The third-generation grower said he had no concerns about the safety of using treated water that was not fit for drinking to irrigate crops for human consumption.
A sign saying recycled water in use for irrigation, do not drink.
The recycled water has been cleared for use on fruit crops with strict conditions. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
He said Pinata Farms had been using a similar recycled water scheme to grow berries for 15 years in Stanthorpe.
The Southern Downs Regional Council uses Class A recycled water to provide irrigation for horticulture, sports and recreation grounds, the golf course and school sports fields.
"The water doesn't come in contact with the berry crop at all. It's all put in underneath the plastic," Mr Scurr explained.
Irrigation pipe going under the plastic with the strawberries in it.
Recycled water is dispersed under plastic to keep it clear from the strawberries fruits. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
"There's a plastic barrier there for weeds and other purposes that protects the fruit from any of this water, so it doesn't come into any contact."
While pineapples would receive overhead irrigation in their developmental stage, Mr Scurr said they would not be watered within one month of harvest.
"So it's incredibly safe. In fact, the water is much cleaner than our existing water out of the creek."
A dam with the reflection of tea trees in it.
Pinata Farms says it will prioritise using recycled water to leave more water in its dams and creeks. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Mr Scurr said his family would prioritise using the recycled water on crops, allowing farm dams to stay full and overflow into creeks and ecosystems.
"Other growers downstream from us will now have more water coming down the creek than there would have in the past as well," he said.
Twin View Turf was the first farm to use the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme on about 200 hectares.
A man in a t-shirt stands in front of a field of turf being irrigated with recycled water.
Lawrence Stephenson has welcomed the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
General manager Lawrence Stephenson said they had used nearly 200 megalitres of recycled water since the scheme was commissioned this year.
Mr Stephenson said it was a "complete change in agricultural practices" from having to "ration" water.
"It now means that we can use as much water as the plant can sustain to maximise our production through all stages of the growing cycle."
Five farms will be included in the initial stage of the scheme. The irrigation water is currently subsidised.
Posted23m ago23 minutes agoTue 1 Apr 2025 at 10:47pm, updated16m ago16 minutes agoTue 1 Apr 2025 at 10:55pm
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