Author(s)

I Radbone & S Hamnett

Abstract

Adelaide, South Australia, home to over one million people, is the capital of a desert state. Its water must be used carefully for the city to survive and prosper. Over the past decade or so a number of major initiatives have been taken, including the promotion of the integrated management of river catchments, formerly fragmented between different jurisdictions; the storage, cleaning and reuse of stormwater through techniques including the development of artificial wetlands and aquifer recharge; the introduction of dual reticulation systems in new housing areas which provide recycled water for purposes where drinking water is not required; and the reuse of wastewater which is piped to horticultural and viticultural areas for irrigation. These measures have all helped to restrict the city‘s water consumption, as well as provide a number of other environmental benefits, including, in particular, a reduction in the amount of polluted water discharged into the sea. This paper outlines the initiatives taken, describes the benefits they have produced, highlights the key factors necessary to bring the projects into being and assesses their contribution to making Adelaide a more sustainable city. Introduction Adelaide, the capital of a desert state, has water use patterns that are unsustainable. It also faces problems of estuarine and off-shore pollution. Given continual pressure for the expansion of export-based industry to the north and south of the city, these problems will only become worse unless serious measures are put into place the make better use of Adelaide’s water. This paper discusses the nature of the water problems facing the city and outlines what measures are being taken to make the city’s water use sustainable. The paper looks at the reuse of sewerage water, the use of storm water through

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