The great water wait of 28 years
Vikki Campion
The Daily Telegraph
December 22, 201212:00AM
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Pirrama Park at Pyrmont / Pic: Phil Rogers Source: The Daily Telegraph
A PROJECT to put a recycled water tank under a Sydney harbourside park has received strong criticism because it will take around three decades to make a return to ratepayers.
Sydney City Council wants to install a 200kL storage tank and irrigation equipment worth $577,000 underneath Pirrama Park at Pyrmont, allowing for 80 per cent of its irrigation needs to be met with recycled water.
But a report to council showed the cumulative savings of the original capital would not be met until the 2036-37 financial year, with the return on investment not kicking in until the financial year 2039-40.
Despite the project being tipped to save 7.94 megalitres of water per year, Liberal councillor Edward Mandla is a critic.
He said if he was a door-to-door salesman offering a return in 28 years “people would call Fair Trading”.
He said recycled water seemed like a good idea but councillors had been shocked to learn it would take 28 years to pay back.
Council reports said savings of $577,00 would be achieved after a 25-year period.
“Overall payback period inclusive of the operating costs is 28 years. The design life of the tanks is expected to be 50 years,” it said.
Council CEO Monica Barone said infrastructure investment with a long life generally took longer to see pay back.
“It’s difficult to defend not doing a water-saving project,” she said.
“It’s a policy decision. I think that recycling water is something people have come to respect.”
Councillor John Mant said Sydney’s forefathers didn’t have four- to seven-year payback periods when they built the Harbour Bridge.
He said it was an investment in fundamental infrastructure, not borrowing for a purely financial purpose.