Supplying safe water to Yulara

Where does water come from in Yulara?

Water in Yulara comes from a natural underground water deposit called an aquifer. The water is accessed from the Dune Plains aquifer.

Water is pumped to the surface and treated to meet Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. It is then stored in ground level storage tanks before delivery to homes and hotels in the area.

While the arid environment results in little surface water, the groundwater sources recharge every few years when significant, sustained rainfall is experienced in the region and captured through runoff.

How we deliver water in Yulara

We use pumps in bores to pump groundwater to the surface. Around half of this water is treated for drinking while the remainder is used for secondary purposes. We maintain 55kms of pipes throughout Yulara that are regularly monitored to ensure your water remains safe as it flows through our network.

Yulara accesses clean water for drinking and raw water for irrigation

We source water through six production bores

Water is stored in five above ground tanks

We treat our water to ensure it's safe to drink straight from the tap Alice Springs: Water sourced from groundwater. It is then treated, tested, stored and delivered to homes

Water quality

Whether you are a resident of Yulara or a visitor, we know the safety of your drinking water is vitally important. Due to the high naturally occurring salt levels in the Dunes Plains aquifer, Power and Water operates a reverse osmosis plant to reduce salt levels to within guideline levels. This cleaned and filtered water is used for drinking, bathing and cooking.

Power and Water also operates a non-potable water system in Yulara. This means that the water sourced from the aquifer is not treated and only provided to the Yulara community for ablutions, firefighting and irrigation. The non-potable water is supplied through an alternate network pipe system only accessible to a limited number of customers.