As Melbourne’s population grows and climate change makes rainfall more unpredictable, the pressure on our water supplies continues to increase. Long-term projections show that stream flows within the city’s water catchments could drop by up to 50% by 2065.
To help meet this challenge, we’re proposing a new underground water recycling facility at Tram Road Reserve, near the intersection of Tram Road and the Eastern Freeway. This facility will produce over 2.5 million litres of recycled water per week, which will be supplied to new homes and parks around Doncaster Hill—significantly reducing the demand on our existing water sources.
This project is part of our ongoing commitment to securing sustainable water supplies for our community, ensuring that we make the best use of the resources available, even in times of climate uncertainty and declining rainfall.
Map showing the location of the recycled water facility and the areas it will service when complete
When will it be constructed?
We’re targeting construction to start in 2026 with the first recycled water produced in 2028.
Your valued feedback
Over several years, and closing in 2022, we conducted extensive community and stakeholder engagement that provided valuable insights and community sentiment that has shaped the design of the facility and how it will be constructed.
Site investigations and community consultation determined the location at Tram Road Reserve to be the most suitable location to build the underground facility.
Manningham Council and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA Victoria) provided the necessary permit approvals and permissions in late 2023.
Since then, we've been working with specialist contractors to refine the facility design and work towards the procurement and construction phase of the project.
Above-ground building design
The underground facility is being designed to restore as much green space as possible to the community.
There will be two small above-ground buildings that will provide access to the facility, as well as contain vents, the facility’s electricity connection, and equipment to receive chemical deliveries. The buildings can be accessed by foot or vehicle by the new pathway.
Traffic impacts during construction
We’ve been working on the best ways to access the Reserve - minimising impact on residents, park users and local streets, while also considering the practical needs of construction. The safety of residents, road users, pedestrians, and construction staff is our priority.
We know getting construction vehicles into Tram Road Reserve will be challenging. Vehicles in varying sizes, from cars through to large trucks and excavators, are needed to excavate and remove soil from the site and deliver equipment and materials.
When we appoint our design and construction contractor, they will review the proposed options and make sure construction access minimises impacts to residents wherever possible and meets Department of Transport and Council’s requirements.
We’re also coordinating with the North East Link project to ensure we’re aware of each other’s plans.
We’re proposing to use Tram Road and the southern end of Whittens Lane as the primary route for larger vehicles.
Whittens Lane will need to be temporarily opened to allow construction traffic to turn in and out of Tram Road. Turning traffic will be left turn in/left turn out only. This junction would be only open for construction traffic and closed outside of construction times. Once construction work is finished, the junction would be closed again.
Trucks would make their way into the reserve using the vacant land at 6 Whittens Lane. The block is quite steep, so we’ll need to level it to make it easier for vehicles to access the reserve.
We’ll be talking directly with the residents located on Whittens Lane to keep them informed about how we’ll manage any impacts to them.
As well as using Tram Road and Whittens Lane for large and heavy vehicles, small vehicles (like cars and utes) will also enter the reserve through this route. When these vehicles leave the reserve they will use local streets including Frank Street, Grange Park Avenue and Whittens Lane.
The connection to sewer will be located on the southern side of Koonung Creek. Access to the south side of the creek will be needed for a short time to construct the connection. This may involve some use of Koonung Creek trail for a short period and will be planned in consultation with stakeholders. The approach to these works will be confirmed during detailed design.
Once constructed, vehicles will need to access the facility. These will usually be small vehicles, like utes and vans, and will also include the deliveries of things such as chemicals and other supplies.
To access the above-ground buildings, we’re proposing a new access pathway, through 6 Whittens Lane to Grange Park Avenue along the northern edge of the grass area of the reserve.
We’re also proposing to include car spaces on 6 Whittens Lane for staff, so only vehicles that need to reach the facility directly will enter the reserve.
This, like all the plans we’ve outlined, is subject to approvals.
