The geothermal bore which heats the pools and the pool hall has recently completed a six week testing period and the grey water recycling system went online last month.

“The City of Canning has recently finished the testing phase of the installation of its geothermal bore at the Cannington Leisureplex and the results are outstanding,” City of Canning Chief Executive Officer Lyn Russell said.

“Tests show that the heating is more reliable than the gas heating system,” she added.

Testing has shown that the geothermal heating system manages the pool water temperature with a high level of reliability. The pool has remained at a constant temperature even through the colder temperatures with a temperature variation of only 0.1⁰C. The geothermal heating system has allowed for the pool temperature to be set higher at a comfortable 28⁰C.

The geothermal bore extracts water at 48⁰C from 1.1 km below the surface. The water is then pumped into a heat exchange unit which transfers the heat to the pool water. The underground water is then pumped back into the ground at a depth of approximately 500m. This is a closed system and there is very little loss of water to the underground system.

The grey water recycling went online recently and the system will result in significant water savings for the Cannington Leisureplex. The grey water recycling unit (which went online on 21 June) uses filtered and treated waste water from showers to flush the toilets and reticulate garden beds.

During summer, the Cannington Leisureplex uses an air-conditioning heat sink system which draws hot air from the air conditioning to use in the heating of the pool and aquatic centre hall. The system means the geothermal bore is not required for approximately six months per year.

Lyn Russell said the systems showed that sustainability was important to the City of Canning.

“The City of Canning is currently planning to develop a number of sustainability initiatives,” she said.

To contact the City of Canning’s Media Officer phone: 9231 0542

http://www.canning.wa.gov.au/Featured/sustainability-at-cannington-leisureplex.html