By Alesha Capone
THE Club Italia Sporting Club in Sunshine would possibly be the last place visitors expect to see a desalination plant.
But when the club’s members decided to investigate ways to keep their three soccer fields green last year, a desalination plant seemed to be the best option.
General manager Charles D’Abico said he was not aware of any other soccer clubs with their own desalination plant.
“We’re fairly excited by the whole thing and our kids are not going to be disadvantaged by not being able to go on the field this season,” Mr D’Abico said.
He said the club decided to explore different methods to supply their soccer grounds with water last year.
“We investigated a synthetic option, but had heard statistics about it affecting players physically over time, ” Mr D’Abico said.
After a geological engineer surveyed the club ground, a bore 38 metres deep was dug to find a water source. The only problem was, the water was too salty.
As a consequence, the club chose Williamstown-based business Aqueous Solutions to install their desalination plant, which pumps up to 21,000 litres of water per day to a unit inside a shed.
Then a process called “reverse osmosis” passes the salty water through membranes to take out impurities, leaving clean water for the soccer grounds. The liquid can then be stored in a 154,000 litre tank or pumped out to the soccer fields.
Aqueous Solutions gave Club Italia a 10 per cent discount to install the system, as it was for a not-for-profit sports club.
Mr D’Abico said installing the desalination plant cost the club about $55,000 to $60,000.
He said the club’s 260 soccer players, aged seven and over, could not wait for their first game of the season on 11 April.
“People get a shock when they hear we have a desalination plant here. They expect to see this huge monster of a thing, while it’s quite unique. People are impressed,” he said. Mr D’Abico often drinks water from the desalination plant.
See http://clubitaliasporting.com. au to find out more.
