SALISBURY, AUSTRALIA — Scientists from Australia’s national science agency have turned stormwater from this city in South Australia into purified drinking water using a combination of natural treatment processes and engineered methods, according to a September 17 news release from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
The water was stored under the city of Salisbury in a porous limestone aquifer 160 meters (about 525 feet) below ground after it was filtered through a wetland. According to Dr. Peter Dillon, principal research engineer and project leader at CSIROLand and Water, the natural filtration process in the wetland allowed particles to settle before the water was “injected via wells into a limestone aquifer for storage and months of natural slow filtration through the aquifer.”
Although the recovered water was found to meet drinking water health standards, as an extra safeguard and for aesthetic quality, the water was aerated and filtered through an activated carbon filter. It then underwent microfiltration, ultraviolet disinfection and ozone disinfection.
The end product was bottled and labeled with the brand name “Recharge.” CSIRO said the water complies with the same health standards as tap and bottled water.
Dillon said the project demonstrates that harvesting drinking water from stormwater can be part of a suite of diversified water supply options. “Compared to other common alternative supplies, stormwater harvesting is cheaper, energy-efficient and has a small carbon footprint,” he said.
For background information on the project, click here.
To read the news release, click here.
For related information, click here 
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