Victoria Minister for Racing Denis Napthine

A Desalination Solution For Water Saving At Flemington

Victor P Taffa

Minister for Racing Denis Napthine today announced an innovative $1.8 Million project for Flemington racecourse that will see the equivalent of the average annual consumption of more than 1,000 Melbourne households of mains water saved every year.

Dr. Napthine visited Flemington today to announce the Flemington Water Strategy which will see the installation of six desalination units to access a significant aquifer located beneath the racecourse.

“This is a landmark project for a landmark racecourse, which will lead the way in water-saving measures for racing and sporting venues in Victoria.” Dr. Napthine said.

“The Victorian Coalition Government will provide half of the funding, through the Victorian Racing Industry Fund, to the joint project with the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) to provide the balance.”

“This innovative project will provide 150 megalitres of desalinated water to Flemington Racecourse; greatly reducing its reliance on drinking water and helping to maintain its world-renowned 2.3 kilometre racetrack as well as the grass training tracks.

“Each unit will provide 25 megalitres of water annually for use by the club, and eight 250,000 litre water storage tanks will be installed to store the water.

“The Flemington Water Strategy, developed in consultation with City West Water and its water project partner Desaln8, will enable the VRC to reduce its reliance on drinking water from Melbourne’s storages as well as reducing its ongoing costs.” Dr. Napthine said.

Dale Monteith, Chief Executive Officer of the VRC, said thanks to the support of the Victorian Government and City West Water, the VRC would be able to reduce its heavy reliance on Melbourne’s shared potable water resources and help drought-proof the racecourse.

“Until now, underground desalination has not been successfully implemented anywhere in the world.” Mr. Monteith said.

“Using Flemington as a test bed for the desalination technology, the VRC and Australian company Desalin8 completed 18 months of vigorous development work before the units became operational.”

“The plans announced today will create tangible environmental benefits while providing a blueprint for water conservation that hasn’t been seen until now, highlighting that Victoria and the VRC are not only world leaders in racing, but also environmental sustainability.” Mr. Monteith said.

The Victorian Government is providing $79.5 Million from the VRIF to provide support for the three racing codes to help them grow their social and economic benefits to the state. A total of $30 Million is being provided for infrastructure improvements at racing and training venues across the state.