Jaidyn jumps for joy at the new water. Picture: MITCH BEAR

"IT has been a long, thirsty wait, but Green Gully Soccer Club was flooded with enthusiasm after the connection of their desalination plant last week.

The $250,000 project, in the pipeline since October 2008, gained momentum with the sinking of a bore in February 2009 but stalled over technical issues in recent months.

“It has been a long project and we’re about 12 months behind schedule. But now that we’re finally there it’s fantastic,” Green Gully Soccer Club general manager Raymond Mamo said.

The club plumber and electrician have been working around the clock installing pumps, pipes and safety switches while Delahey’s Ismael Sosa-Sanchez from ESA Envirowater fine-tuned the desalination plant over the past months.

Stage 3 water restrictions have meant the club has only been allowed to water one of four grounds twice a week.

In April 2008 the Leader reported that Green Gully’s 450 registered players had missed out on pre-season training because of the poor condition of their grounds and were travelling as far as Thornbury to access safe play fields.

The two dry summers since have compounded playing surface problems.

But Mr Mamo said the new $60,000 desalination plant with a capacity to convert 25-28,000 litres of salty bore water into fresh water each day would lead to significant improvements for the club’s pitches and training areas.

The club is entitled to extract 35,000 litres a day from the bore and has a 100,000-litre storage tank to collect excess water.

Discussions are also well underway about a joint project with the council and City West Water to harvest stormwater in the area. Mr Mamo is confident the club’s grounds will be well-watered across all seasons.

“Now that we’ll be able to have good playing services, hopefully we’ll be able to get some of the schools back and using the ground,” he said.

Mr Mamo is now pushing for fencing to be installed at the ground to protect the fields and players from illegal off-road motorbike riders who frequently invade the pitches.

Green Gully is the second Brimbank club known to be using a desalination plant to keep sports grounds alive.

The Club Italia Sporting Club has been watering its fields off Furlong Rd with converted bore water since early this year." -- Courtesy of the Brimbank Leader

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