The Western Treatment Plant is getting extra grunt to make sure it reprocesses more of the city’s sewage with less unsightly or unseemly “side-effects”.
A new nutrient removal plant, slated for completion by the end of 2018, will increase the Werribee plant’s recycled water processing capacity by 140 megalitres – the equivalent of 56 Olympic-sized swimming pools – every day.
It will also ensure nitrogen levels from sewage waters discharged into Port Phillip Bay are maintained at safe levels.
The plant will stand alongside two existing processors but, according to Melbourne Water, will have a more energy efficient design and more advanced monitoring and control capabilities than the other two.
The project manager of the capacity boost, Guy Fazzino, said the sewage is “so much more important than waste” – a valuable source of renewable energy and recycled water that both cuts energy bills and irrigates parks, market gardens and farms.
“This important project will support a sustainable environment for all Melburnians, and truly reinforces Western Treatment Plant’s place as a world leader in technical and environmental innovation,” he said.
