Millennium Park will include the existing Bicentennial Park, the diverse wetlands areas of Homebush Bay, the remnant forests of North Newington and the dramatic form of the Brickpit. Ecological studies, carried out since mid-1992, are being used to guide conservation management plans for the natural ecosystems of the Park. Totalling 440 hectares, Millennium Park will be larger than the combined area of Centennial Park and Moore Park in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The design of all venues and facilities developed by the Olympic Co-ordination Authority will incorporate innovative environmental features. The water-cycle infrastructure at Homebush Bay will allow for waste water to be collected, stored, treated and distributed in a network for reclaimed water.
Reclaimed water is water that has been recovered from a waste discharge and treated.
It will be used for such purposes as toilet flushing and parkland irrigation. Stormwater collected from the roof of the Stadium and at the Sydney International Regatta Centre and the Brickpit will be utilised for irrigation and other reclaimed water uses. Already, backwash from the Sydney International Aquatic Centre is recycled. Backwash is water used to flush out the pool filters and is then pumped to the nearby Western Water Quality Control Pond where it is used to irrigate landscaping. The parklands at Homebush Bay have been especially designed to reduce water usage with almost exclusive use of native plants adapted to the Australian environment.