“Just as many Victorians are recycling water from around the house to keep their gardens alive, we too will reuse water from this event to benefit Melbourne’s trees, parks and gardens,” Mr Thwaites said.
The City of Melbourne will use the water to fill road barriers currently being used as drip irrigation systems on heritage trees around the City. There are currently 1300 of these barriers around Melbourne.
Further water will be piped across the Yarra to the historic lake at the Royal Botanic Gardens which is currently at record low levels.
Organisers have just 30 hours to treat 6.8 million litres of water and completely remove it from Rod Laver Arena. A detailed feasibility study was undertaken to identify the best way to re-use the water.
Mr Thwaites said the water was greatly needed for Melbourne’s historic elm trees and the world renowned Royal Botanic Gardens.
Dr Philip Moors, Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, welcomed the announcement and said water conservation was a big priority for the Gardens, having cut consumption by more than 30 per cent since 2001.
“Having enough water in the lake is really important to support nearby heritage trees and the plants and wildlife inside the lake - we've already lost about half a metre in depth over the past year,” Dr Moors said.
Over one million people visit the Gardens each year. Lord Mayor John So welcomed the availability of extra water for heritage trees. “The people of Melbourne love our heritage trees and we’re doing everything we can to ensure they survive – this extra water will boost that effort,” Mr So said.
