Check your recycled water connection in southeast Melbourne

South East Water is encouraging customers connected to recycled water to check their connections to avoid cross-connection.
Image: South East Water

South East Water encourages customers whose homes are connected to recycled water to conduct an annual check to ensure that it does not cross-connect with their drinking water.

More than 62,000 homes in Melbourne’s southeast enjoy the benefits of using recycled water, including washing clothes, flushing toilets, and watering the garden. In 2023–24, South East Water supplied about 7 billion litres of water that had been recycled to homes, businesses, agriculture and open spaces, helping to save precious drinking water supplies and protect the environment

South East Water’s General Manager of Service Delivery, Tim Lloyd, emphasised the importance of maintaining a safe connection.

“While this water is safe, reliable and of high quality, it’s essential for customers to check their supply to ensure there’s no cross-connection with drinking water.

“The check is especially needed if customers have undertaken plumbing, landscaping or renovation works on their property,” Lloyd said.

Customers can identify this water supply by looking at its purple pipes, taps, and meter. In new housing estates, these are installed at the time of a home’s construction.

Check your recycled water connection in 4 steps.

  1. Turn off the isolation valve at your drinking water meter. Leave the isolation valve at the purple water meter turned on.
  2. Turn on all sinks, baths, and shower taps (hot and cold) individually. All taps should run dry in 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the property size.
  3. After the taps have run dry, flush all toilets. They should refill as normal.
  4. Turn on all outdoor taps. All outdoor drinking water taps (if you have them) should run dry, while the purple recycled water taps should continue to flow. If you continue to have water gushing from your drinking water taps after the isolation valve has been isolated for 10 minutes, you may have a cross connection. This is where the 2 water supplies are connected to the wrong outlets.

Customers who suspect a cross-connection are urged to contact a South East Water Recycled Water Officer on 03 9552 3219 or 13 28 12 outside business hours.

Learn more at Recycled water | South East Water

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