Melbourne Water is throwing open the doors of Werribee’s Western Treatment Plant to show the public it’s more than a sewage treatment facility.
While the plant is most famous for being the foundation of Melbourne’s sewage system since 1897, it’s also a renowned and internationally protected bird-watching sanctuary and world- class environmental site.
Five free Water Watch tours of the plant on Sunday, October 12, will cover everything from how the sewage treatment system works to a guide-assisted viewing of the plant’s birds and wetlands, and a short history lesson.
The tours will last between one and two hours and be led by experts in their field.
Western Treatment Plant manager Gerard Thurbon said the open day was a chance for the community to get a sneak peek behind the scenes at one of our most versatile sites.
“The Western Treatment Plant is our quiet achiever,” he says. “It has many feathers in its cap that people don’t know about.
“This year, we’ve introduced a new tour, from waste to resources, which focuses on the many ways we’re looking at waste as a valued resource, not only treating and using the water, but collecting gas for energy production and using solids for fertiliser.
“The site already generates enough energy from bio-gases to make it self-sufficient and now we’re trialling an Australian-first project to use algae to treat sewage and generate energy.”
To register for the tours, visit: melbournewater.com.au/openday
