Virginia - about half an hour’s drive to the north of Adelaide - is home to highly productive market gardens and Australia’s largest concentration of greenhouse production.

 

Thanks to the Virginia Pipeline Scheme the future continues to look bright for the expanding horticultural industry in the region. The scheme is a co-operative undertaking of the Virginia Irrigation Association (representing market gardeners and other irrigators), SA Water and Water Reticulation Systems Virginia (a private sector subsidiary of Tyco International).

 

As part of its Environment Improvement Program, SA Water constructed a $30 million filtration/disinfection plant (DAFF) to treat lagoon effluent from the Bolivar wastewater treatment plant, producing Class A reclaimed water which can be used for irrigation of Virginia’s crops.

 

The quality of the water is closely monitored in accordance with procedures set down by the Department of Human Services to ensure public health standards are maintained.

 

The scheme provides an alternative source of water to the local underground water supplies which were overused and progressively deteriorating in quality. It also supports one of South Australia’s most valuable produce markets.

 

Water Reticulation Systems Virginia, with financial assistance from SA Water and the Federal Government, constructed an extensive distribution system involving more than 100 kilometres of pipes at a cost of about $22 million.

 

The system was commissioned in 1999 and has a capacity of 110 mega litres/day. It commences at the Bolivar plant and fans out to provide water to irrigators as far north as the Gawler River.

 

The scheme now has more than 240 contracts using more than 15,000 mega litres of reclaimed water for irrigation each year.

 

Use of reclaimed water is expected to increase as the horticultural industry continues to expand production, as groundwater substitution takes place, and as growers establish on-site infrastructure and refine their irrigation methods.

 

The diversion of wastewater from the Port Adelaide Treatment Plant will make even more recycled water available through the scheme.

 

It is expected that ultimately between 50% and 70% of the treated wastewater flow from the Bolivar plant could be used for irrigation on the northern Adelaide Plains. 

 

The Virginia Pipeline Scheme is the first and largest reclaimed water scheme of its type in Australia.