Reserve ready for summer

By Casey Neill
BORONIA’S Tormore Reserve can now tackle summer head-on with help from an Australian-first water recycling project.
Previously discarded backwash water from nearby Knox Leisureworks will be treated and stored to keep the oval’s turf in pristine condition throughout the year.
The $350,000 project will also save 18 megalitres of water – enough to fill more than five Olympic-sized swimming pools – each year.
Knox mayor Jim Penna turned the sprinklers on at an official launch last Wednesday to coincide with National Water Week.
Knox Environment Society president Darren Wallace said Knox was experiencing an extreme dry spell. “We’ve just been incredibly unlucky,” he said. “That’s why projects like these are so important.”
Knox Council received $185,000 from the State Government’s Smart Water Fund and $40,000 from its Drought Relief for Community Sport and Recreation Program for the project. The council contributed $125,000.
The money was used to build a backwash treatment plant and water-transfer pipeline and install three water tanks with 500,000-litre capacity. Construction was finished in June.