Victoria should pilot a recycled drinking water facility and plan now to expand desalination capacity

Manufactured water created from recycled wastewater can help meet growing demand for water and offset the impacts of climate change. Other manufactured water sources include treated stormwater and desalinated water. 

Victoria’s infrastructure strategy 2025–2055, released today, makes 45 recommendations to the Victorian Government across infrastructure sectors including transport, health, housing, energy, social infrastructure and the environment. It also identifies 8 future options for the government to consider.  

The updated strategy offers practical, evidence-based advice on the projects, policies and reforms most critical to Victoria’s growth and resilience over the next 3 decades. New evidence and analysis, together with stakeholder and community feedback, have directly informed updates to the strategy. 

Infrastructure Victoria Chief Executive Dr Jonathan Spear said: “Victoria’s water resources are under pressure from a warming climate and growing population.”  

“Bendigo and Geelong are likely to need more drinking water by 2040,” he said. “Melbourne’s water supply might need to double within 50 years and up to 65% of Melbourne’s water could be from manufactured sources in 2050.” 

The strategy recommends the government pilot a recycled drinking water facility to prepare for the future. Recycled water is wastewater that is treated to make it safe for people to use. 

People in Perth, Singapore and over 30 other cities throughout the world drink recycled water. The New South Wales Government is also considering recycled drinking water for Sydney. 

“Recycled water costs less than treated stormwater,” Dr Spear said. “It also relies less on rainfall, making it more resilient to our changing climate.” 

Dr Spear said pilot facilities can provide useful data on treatment requirements. 

“Regulators can gain a better understanding of whether recycled water can meet drinking water regulations, and communities have an opportunity to learn more about the process,” he said.  

Water authorities in Sydney, Singapore and Silicon Valley provide tours of recycled drinking water facilities  to help educate the community on how the process works. 

Infrastructure Victoria estimates a pilot recycled drinking water facility will cost $20 million to $50 million to build. The 30-year infrastructure strategy recommends technical studies and community education programs, at a cost of $5 million to $10 million, on how Victoria can adopt recycled drinking water. 

The strategy also recommends the government develop a business case now for expanded desalination capacity to support the water needs of Victoria’s largest cities in the coming decades. The Victorian Government has commenced this process, with the release of the Water Security Plan for Greater Melbourne, Geelong and connected towns. It now needs to make progress on the proposed investigation and planning. 

“The Victorian Government should plan now to expand Victoria’s desalination capacity in the future.” Dr Spear said. “This might be by expanding the existing Victorian desalination plant or investing in a new plant.” 

“Manufactured water facilities can take up to 10 years to plan and build. Preparing now means that more water will be available when Victorians need it,” he said. 

Financially responsible infrastructure strategy can deliver more than $160 billion in benefits  

By partnering with the Australian Government and other organisations, along with smarter use of existing government land, the Victorian Government can implement the infrastructure strategy’s 45 recommendations at a cost of around $60 billion over the next decade. 

“Our recommendations lay out how the Victorian Government can reduce the costs of providing infrastructure over the next three decades and generate over $166 billion worth of benefits for Victorians,” Dr Spear said. 

Infrastructure Victoria is required to develop and update Victoria’s 30-year infrastructure strategy every three to five years. This is the second strategy update since Infrastructure Victoria was created 10 years ago. 

Victoria’s infrastructure strategy 2025–2055 will be tabled in the Victorian Parliament this week to inform the policies of all parties. The Victorian Government is required to respond to the strategy recommendations within 12 months. 

Media enquiries 

Mandy Frostick mandy.frostick@infrastructurevictoria.com.au Ph: 0419 546 245 
Madeleine Brennan madeleine.brennan@infrastructurevictoria.com.au Ph: 0402 715 577 

Victoria’s infrastructure strategy 2025–2055 recommends: 

Recommendation 26: Advance integrated water management and use more recycled water 

Work with partners to fund and deliver integrated water management projects. Determine the costs and benefits of introducing recycled drinking water in Victoria and pilot a recycled drinking water facility. Deliver a community education campaign on the need for investment in more water sources.  

• Estimated cost: $300 million over 10 years. This includes a grant fund for planning and delivering integrated water management initiatives, including developing a pilot recycled drinking water plant. 

• Integrated water management considers water, wastewater and stormwater services as a joint system. It can improve water security, public health, urban amenity and the environment.  It can also help protect homes and infrastructure from floods. This includes places where existing stormwater systems become overwhelmed. 
  
  

Recommendation 45: Create and preserve opportunities for future major infrastructure projects 

Create and preserve opportunities to build major infrastructure projects that might be required in the long term. This includes expanding desalination capacity. 

• The Victorian Government should complete a detailed business case that considers expanding the existing Victorian Desalination Plant and alternative desalination options to help meet water demand until 2035. 
  
  

Future option: Plan for and invest in manufactured water 

Plan for and invest in manufactured water. Return more water to Traditional Owners and the environment. 

• We estimate that planning for manufactured water will cost $1 million to $5 million. This is to explore feasibility and develop business cases to provide Victorians with more manufactured water. This will support strategic planning of the full water network and allow for projects to start construction by 2035 as needed. 

• Our cost estimate for planning does not include the cost of investing in projects. We estimate that building manufactured water facilities will cost in the billions of dollars. For example, the Victorian desalination project in the Wonthaggi region cost $3.5 billion to build in 2009.