Last week I visited Sydney Water’s new headquarters at 1 Smith Street Parramatta. Thanks to Sydney Water Every Drop Counts Team and Paul from Brookfield Multiplex (Building Manager) for the great tour.
Please note the building was built by Brookfield Multiplex and is subsequently leased to Sydney Water. This arrangement is very popular with government agencies these days. More on why later.
Key water conservation and management features to the building are:
- The building is designed to reduce at least 75% less drinking water than an equivalent commercial office building.
- Using less water reduces the flow of wastewater to the sewerage system by up to 90%.
- An onsite wastewater recycling plant provides recycled water for toilet flushing, cooling towers, fire system testing and irrigation.
- A 100,000 litre rainwater tank provides additional water for toilets and cooling towers.
- There is state of the art water conservation including water efficient toilets, showers and taps. A building management system monitors water and energy use to minimise leaks and waste.
Actual building performance under the NABERS and Green Building Council of Australia Green Star Scheme (office v2 rating) rating schemes is yet to be determined. However, the building was designed to achieve a five-star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR – now NABERS Energy Rating) and Green Building Council of Australia Green Star Scheme (office v2 rating).
The water recycling scheme (water treatment system + delivery) within the building is currently in validation stage as per the NSW Guidelines for the Management of Private Recycled Water Schemes. This guideline aligns the principles outlined in the Australian Water Recycling Guidelines to the approvals process for private recycled water schemes that are larger than a single household (requiring section 68 approval) in NSW.
The water recycling system has been sourced from GE (General Electric). Think of the whole water recycling system as train made up of carriages each required to carry out a specific process to output treated water ‘fit for purpose‘. Water treated to a ‘fit for purpose’ standard for specific applications within this building are: toilet flushing, cooling towers, fire system testing and irrigation.
