Windy Hill Green Precincts Project
Water for the Future – Fact sheet
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, July 2009
PDF file
Recipient: Essendon Football Club, Melbourne Victoria
Funding: Up to $1.5 Million in matching funding
The Windy Hill project is the first of 10 high profile projects to be undertaken with funding from the Green Precincts Fund. The project site is the windy hill training ground the home of the Essendon (AFL) Football club in Melbourne.
The construction of an innovative under-oval 800,000 litre water storage system for rain and stormwater is already complete. The aim of this water storage system is to more than halve the potable water use at the site. The saved water will be used around the club, and will be particularly beneficial for watering the oval – ensuring the playing surfaces can be maintained in a good condition while minimising the use of non-potable water supplies.
The water is captured off the oval as well as from grandstands and other buildings. This means that as well as the harvested rainwater, some of the water from irrigating the oval will also be reused.
As part of the project Essendon Football Club will also implement substantial energy initiatives such as; the installation of solar and wind energy systems, solar hot water and building monitoring systems including smart metering.
As well as delivering direct environmental benefits from reducing potable water and non renewable energy use at the Windy Hill Green Precinct site, the project aims to raise community awareness about saving water and energy. As a high profile AFL club, Essendon has the opportunity to educate players, staff and fans about ways they can help the environment day-to-day. The Windy Hill site is not only the training facility for the club, it remains a community facility and is used by local residents, schools and sporting groups. This provides a wealth of opportunities for community engagement through the demonstration of water and renewable energy efficiency measures to encouraging the take up of water and energy savings measures including use of renewable energy in the home and at community facilities.
Work began on the project in October 2008 and all water and energy initiatives will be complete within three years.
The Green Precincts Fund was announced in the 2008-09 Federal Budget, with funding of $15 million over four years to support at least ten high-profile demonstration projects that deliver water and energy savings while educating the community about water and energy efficiency.
The Green Precincts Fund is an Australian Government initiative to prepare Australia for a future with less water and to encourage local communities to better manage their water and energy use for current and future generations.
More information
- Essendon Football Club - Environment
- Essendon Football Club First Green Precinct – Media Release 21 September 2008
- Water for the Future
- Green Precincts Fund - Tackling climate change
For further information on the Green Precincts Fund you can email greenprecincts@environment.gov.au; or call 1800 218 478.
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