Increasing access to recycled water quality on the Bellarine

Barwon Water has a goal to recycle 100 percent of the wastewater treated at our water reclamation plants. As part of this goal, we’re maximising the use of recycled water to support agricultural production, tourism and regional prosperity for the Bellarine.

We plan to supply 450 million litres of low salinity, fit-for-purpose recycled water per year to new and existing agricultural and horticultural customers, nearly doubling the amount of recycled water used on the Bellarine.

To deliver this, we’re upgrading the Portarlington Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) on Grassy Point Road to reduce the salinity of the recycled water, and constructing a new 11-kilometre brine pipeline from the Portarlington WRP to our pump station in Clifton Springs. Work is underway and we expect the lower salinity recycled water will commence flowing to customers during the 2026/2027 irrigation period (weather dependent).

Saving precious drinking water

Water is one of our most precious and limited resources. This new infrastructure will help save millions of litres of drinking water every year. By improving recycled water quality, we can deliver more sustainable water supplies to farmers, growers and the wider Bellarine community, reducing the use of drinking water by some of these farms.

This new infrastructure will also deliver certainty for local farmers and businesses, with a secure high-quality water supply irrespective of seasonal conditions.

Further information

We are keen to explore new demand and the feasibility of extensions or connections to the network. If you’re a farmer or grower interested in accessing the recycled water for non-drinking purposes, we’re keen to hear from you.

Please express your interest by emailing info@barwonwater.vic.gov.au

Funding

The project is supported by funding from the Australian and Victorian governments, delivered in partnership with Barwon Water.

What is included in the project?

See the below tabs for more information about the different aspects of the project.

To effectively manage the brine (saltwater waste) from the new treatment plant, we’re designing and constructing a new dedicated brine pipeline to transfer this waste into our existing sewerage network and sewage treatment plant at Black Rock.

We’re completing site investigations for the brine pipeline, which will likely travel along Coatsworth Road, Scotchmans Road, Panaroma Court and High Ridge Drive.

Construction of the pipeline will commence in late 2025. We’ll continue engaging with local landowners over the coming months as we finalise the design and alignment of the pipeline, and work towards construction.

We’re upgrading the Portarlington Water Reclamation Plant on Grassy Point Road. The upgrade involves constructing a new treatment plant to produce fit-for-purpose recycled water at a significantly lower salinity level than the existing high salinity Class C water.

This new infrastructure will deliver certainty for local farmers and businesses, with a secure high-quality water supply irrespective of seasonal conditions.

The upgrade supports the Victorian Government’s Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy, which outlines ways to identify and develop a sustainable supply of water in Victoria's regions.

As of June 2025, works are progressing well to upgrade the Portarlington WRP, including electrical infrastructure, underground pipework, and building pad works for the new treatment plant (see photo below).

Photo: Concrete pour complete for the new treatment plant at the Portarlington WRP, 3 June 2025

We’ve extended the supply of Class C recycled water to additional agricultural and horticultural customers, including vineyards along Portarlington Road, from Scotchmans Road to Church Road.

Construction of the new pipeline was completed in April 2022.