Goulburn Valley Water will release the recycled water from its Broadford wastewater management facility over the coming weeks.
The release will not alter the strict water quality monitoring processes in place to protect the health of local communities and the environment.
Onsite storages at the facility are nearing capacity.
Under normal circumstances, this water would be reused for irrigation on GVW’s Broadford farm; however, tree removal works in the irrigation area earlier this year caused damage to the irrigation infrastructure, limiting the ability to reuse the recycled water in full.
Throughout this period, recycled water use continued as normal on the pastured areas of the farm.
With onsite storages at the Broadford facility nearing capacity, a controlled release of two to four megalitres per day of EPA Class C recycled water will be made into Sunday Creek.
The release is expected to begin this month, and continue until November.
GVW’s wastewater and recycling co-ordinator Stuart Harris said this controlled release would prevent uncontrolled overflows and protect critical infrastructure.
“The release will continue until lagoon levels are returned to a safe and manageable level,” he said.
GVW has informed the EPA of the release and will work closely with it to monitor for any potential environmental impacts.
For more information, contact GVW’s 24/7 customer service centre on 1800 454 500.