Investigating land based disposal of Bolivar reclaimed water, South Australia

The Bolivar sewage works of Adelaide, S.A. treats domestic sewage and industrial waste waters from the northern and eastern suburbs of the city by biological filtration and lagooning. Part of the effluent is used for irrigation and the remainder discharged to sea. This has caused progressive deterioration of important seagrass beds in the area, and it has been recommended that all the effluent should be used to irrigate a horticultural area and an area supporting hardwood plantations. Data on the chemical and biological quality of the effluent are tabulated. Public health, environmental, technical and financial aspects of the proposed system are discussed. The horticultural part of the scheme would be commercially viable but there would be a shortfall in revenue from the afforestation component.