Rainwater from the roof is fed into a detention chamber which acts as a gross pollutant trap before flowing to a second detention chamber, then flowing into the concrete tank which was constructed on site, at a low point below the building. Any overflow then passes out into the stormwater system in the road below the tank.

A mains water supply is connected to an All Pumps Grundfos APRS-55-50/Cu300 pump which will automatically switch from rainwater to mains water when sensors detect the level in the tank is insufficient to supply the building.

The Grundfos pump then feeds the water back to the council chambers via Rehau pipe. At the entry point just inside the building a geofabric sock filter removes coarse sediment before being pumped to the toilets throughout the building. A pressure gauge allows staff to monitor when the filter needs to be cleaned. Two isolation valves enable a quick changeover to a replacement filter to minimise disruption to water being fed to the toilets. Maintenance staff can then clean the filter and swap it back next time the filter needs cleaning.

The suspended gyprock ceiling in the library presented a challenge for Don Brentson, the plumber, installing the Rehau pipe to the toilets at the rear of the library but the whole job of retrofitting has been achieved invisibly and is a credit to Don and Jordan Plumbing.

150 staff and up to 900 visitors to the council chambers and library use the toilets each day which makes the water savings quite considerable. The use of recycled rainwater to the toilets would be invisible to visitors to the council facilities without signage in the toilets clearly advising staff and the public. The hand basins remain supplied with mains water for health and
safety.

Tea Tree Gully Council like many councils have more plans on the drawing board to make a significant contribution to reducing our use of that most precious resource – our water.