CORE has been researching water treatment using recycled materials for more than twenty years with a strong focus on stormwater from urban, industrial and agricultural sources. We are astonished at the atrocious water quality results we have witnessed over time and what little is being done about it. While a lot of effort has been put into gross pollutants you can see with the naked eye, dissolved pollutants such as nutrients, metals, toxic compounds and micro-plastics receive far less attention.
CORE’s extensive local and international research over more than twenty years has conclusively demonstrated that solutions are available. Yet push back, lack of funding for local authorities and lethargy are responsible for keeping these dangerous pollutants out of our waterways. No only is this impairing the environment, it is also a waste of precious water resources that can be harnessed and reused.
Over twenty years ago, CORE was involved in two landmark projects that retro-fitted gutters with bio filters under which were storage systems. The systems reduced localized flooding, kept tens of thousands of kilos of pollutants out of Homebush Bay, Canada Bay, Sydney Harbour and the Pacific Ocean and recycled millions of litres of water !
Program benefits include:
- Removing pollutants from waterways
- Provides supplementary water supplies
- Prevents localized flooding
- Uses mostly recycled materials
- Uses no energy in the treatment
- Replaces degraded drainage infrastructure
- A 2018 study looking at Australia’s waste policy predicted a 5% improvement in the “efficient use of materials” across the economy could increase economic output by up to $24 billion each year. (Ref. Smart Company, Jul 2019)
It’s time to act!!
CORE is proud to launch the Greening the Gutter program that addressed all of the above issues and more. We aim to revolutionize the way we drain water from our communities. Through collaborations and ingenuity we will achieve this aim.
