Googong’s water recycling plant fully operational amid calls for Canberra to develop more sustainable options

A $133 million water recycling plant in Googong, just outside Canberra’s border, is expected to reduce the town’s water usage by nearly two-thirds.

Now fully commissioned, the plant was designed to be used by the township’s anticipated population of 18,000 people, including its schools and businesses.

A new community, Googong began construction in 2012, allowing its planners to lay the groundwork for the system right from the start.

For the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, in whose borders the town sits, the system is a game-changer.

And it has led some to question whether the proximate nation’s capital could stand to introduce further water sustainability measures of its own.

‘Sustainability underpinned everything’

The new plant uses a…