Recycled Water

Recycled water plays a key role in our Ballina Shire urban water cycle. Recycled water is water that originated as wastewater from toilets, showers, kitchens and laundries. The water has been treated to a high standard at a wastewater treatment plant to remove impurities and is now able to be reused by an increasing number of homes and businesses in the Ballina Shire. 

You can't drink this recycled water but it is a great resource because it can be used for flushing toilets, washing clothes, washing cars, pathways and pets, for watering gardens including edible crops and for irrigation, business and industry. 

And what's more, it's a drought-proof source, so you can use it to water your garden or wash your car even when we are in drought. 

Over the next decade over 7,200 homes in the shire will be connected to dual reticulation. Each home will have two sets of water pipes: blue for drinking water and purple for recycled water. Homes with dual reticulation will reduce their use of drinking water by up to 40% .

Download our Recycled Water User Guide(PDF, 2MB)

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Treatment 

Recycled water is currently treated at our Lennox Head Wastewater Treatment facility. Our water recycling plant produces high quality recycled water that goes through a number of rigorous treatment processes in accordance with the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling and the NSW DPI Water Guidelines for Recycled Water Management Systems. Our recycled water is treated to a drinking water quality standard and is crystal clear. 

Properties with recycled water are audited when they are first built and then every five years to ensure no plumbing cross connections have occurred. Recycled water users can check their property’s last audit date via the recycled water sticker located within their meter/power box. See the treatment and auditing factsheets below for more information. 

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What can you use recycled water for? 

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Where is recycled water available? 

Recycled water is currently supplied to a range of areas across our Shire, including: 

Residential estates 

• Coastal Grove, Lennox Head 
• Aspects Estate, Lennox Head 
• Elevation, Lennox Head 
• North Angels Beach, East Ballina 
• Aspens, Ballina  
• Ferngrove, Ballina  
• River Oaks, Ballina  
• Cumbalum, Ballina Heights  
• Pacific Pines, Lennox Head 

Industrial and commercial sites 

• Southern Cross Industrial Estate 

Private reuse sites 

• Ballina Golf Course, Chickiba Drive, East Ballina 
• Ballina Jockey Club, Racecourse Road, Ballina 
• Southern Cross K12 School 

Public open spaces 

• Kingsford Smith Ovals, Ballina 
• Lennox Head playing fields 
• Skennars Head playing fields 
• Fripp Oval, Ballina 
• Saunders Oval, Ballina 
• Chickiba sporting fields, East Ballina

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Recycled water into the future 

Ballina Shire Council has invested $85 million in the Ballina-Lennox Head Recycled Water Masterplan. The program aims to: 

• reuse 80% of our recycled water in times of dry weather by 2050 limiting release of recycled water into waterways and the ocean 
• preserve our drinking water resource 
• deliver high quality recycled water to more than 7,200 new residential blocks over 30 years 
• provide recycled water for irrigation of sporting fields, parks and open spaces 
• look for opportunities to irrigate vegetation regeneration.

In the future, recycled water will expand into new developments across our shire and all future housing estates in our shire will have dual reticulation. 

Where possible, recycled water may also be provided to houses and businesses located near to recycled water pipelines and these properties may be eligible for rebate. 

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FAQs

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