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| Snowmaking at Mt Buller - Courtesy of Mt Buller |
The
Mt
Buller and Mt Stirling ski area
in central Victoria, Australia has a strong background - and high ranking - in
eco-tourism. But, like all ski regions threatened by global climate change, it
has to address the tricky issue of producing artificial snow to bolster natural
snowfalls.
Naturally,
snowmaking requires large volumes of water which usually comes from nearby
lakes and rivers. But as the resort’s website says: “A priority of the Mt Buller and Mt Stirling
Alpine Resort Management Board is protection of the high country streams and
rivers which originate from the snowfields and alpine slopes. The Delatite and
Howqua Rivers ….sustain neighboring farm and town communities as well as
provide lasting enjoyment to thousands of people including bushwalkers,
canoeists, anglers and campers. Protection and preservation of water quality
and quantity are of paramount importance to the wider community and a key
objective of environmental management of the Resort.”
So,
while its snowmaking water was traditionally provided by Boggy Creek, a
tributary of the Delatite River, the resort has spent considerable time and
money looking elsewhere for supplies.
Its
Snowmaking and
Wastewater Recycling Pilot Study investigated making snow from treated effluent
(sewage!) from the local wastewater treatment plant run by the Mt Buller and Mt Stirling Alpine Resort
Management Board. This would have two potential eco
benefits: firstly decreased volumes of effluent released into the environment
and secondly decreased extraction of water from Boggy Creek. Before using the
wastewater for snowmaking, it had to be further purified both for health and
environmental reasons to Class A standards (those required for human food crops
and irrigation of parklands and golf courses).
Using ultra-filtration and ozonation via a $1million filtering system,
the resort was able to produce clean, pure water to pump through the snowmaking
guns onto the slopes. Purifying around 800,000 liters of wastewater each day,
the resort initially hoped to meet around 10 per cent of its needs over a
three-year period from 2008. Since then, a new Class A Wastewater Treatment Plant can now
provide up to two million liters of recycled water for snowmaking per day,
increasing Mt Buller’s capacity by 30 per cent. There is a fail-safe mechanism
that ensures that the system automatically stops during a system malfunction to
prevent any untreated water from entering Sun Valley Reservoir, the snowmaking
dam. Requiring 24-hour monitoring for consistent water purity, the project has cost
in the region of $3.43 million.
The Mt Buller and
Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board was recognized for this innovative work
by the United Nations Association of Australia at the World Environment Day
awards in 2002.
Mt Buller’s
Environmental Policy is designed to meet criteria outlined in AS/NZS ISO
14001:1996, the leading international standard on environmental management. The
ski area is committed to an Environmental
Management Plan which guarantees protection of the natural environment while ensuring
the sustainability of resort activity and development. The plan incorporates flora
and fauna, ecosystems, environmental values and useful information about
climate and geography. As the resort is on Crown land, it encourages community
input into management with an extensive committee established to address
environmental matters.
With a resort entry
fee instigated at Mirimbah, at the base of the mountain, some of the burden of
funding environmental programs is shifted to the resort’s guests. The fee -
which grants access to both mountains - helps maintain essential infrastructure
and services including roads and water treatment. Future aims include utilizing
the recycled water for household use in new developments and for irrigating
open spaces.
