Saving water has always been a Randwick Council priority. Now, with the completion of our biggest stormwater harvest and reuse system in Maroubra, we're saving  up to 40 million litres of potable water each year, just in this location.

After ten months of construction and two months of testing, the system is now diverting stormwater from the surrounding area, filtering it and saving it in two one-million litre tanks buried under Arthur Byrne Reserve near the skatepark in Maroubra. From there, the water is pumped through pipes to all of Maroubra's parks and reserves to irrigate them and keep them lush and green. At its capacity the system can hold up to two million litres of water, ready for use!

As the system is largely underground, we wanted to ensure the community could learn about it as they walk around Maroubra, particularly students and children. To do this, we've created what we call the Randwick City Outdoor Classroom. It's an interactive play space that we've installed in two locations - one at Maroubra beach near the kids playground and one near Mahon Pool. Kids can interact with the play space and learn how to divert and filter rain water, while saving it in tanks to use to water the garden.

We unveiled the new play space with Mayor Danny Said and some terrific kids from St Mary St Joseph's school, which is a local school just near the beach.

The kids had a great time playing with the play space and so did the Mayor!

Once the kids have learned how to divert the water, save it in tanks and filter it, they can use it to water the grass and get a fine mist while doing so!

As you walk around Maroubra, you may notice signs that look like this:

These signs are located in relevant locations to the stormwater system. For instance, one is near the underground water tanks, one is near the filter room, one is near the Gross Pollutant Trap and one is up near Mahon pool, where the water is pumped to water the grass. Each sign has a QR code. When scanned, it will take you to our Maroubra Stormwater Education page on our website. Here, you can learn how the system works, see photos of the build and even download staging plans, process flow diagrams and other information, like a colouring in page for kids!

Here's a video to show you how to use the outdoor classroom: