Welcome to the September WTP (Western Treatment Plant) community update

These updates aim to build your knowledge of WTP and keep you up to date on news, projects and events. We intend to send these out approximately 3-4 times a year. Anyone can sign up to receive these updates by clicking the FOLLOW button at the top of this page.

In this update, you will learn about:

• The basics of sewage – a precious resource in disguise
• How we work alongside Traditional Owners at the WTP
• Turning the tap on and off to actively manage our conservation wetlands
• Our upcoming special guided virtual tour of the WTP

This starts at home.

It’s easy to forget about sewage once it’s flushed down your toilet or drain. And because sewage contains everything that goes down the drain when you wash your dishes, bathe, throw on a load of washing or flush the toilet, it’s actually around 99.8% water!

Where does it all go?

Nearly the size of Philip Island, the Western Treatment Plant (WTP) sustainably treats over half of Melbourne’s sewage turning it into water, nutrients and energy ready for re-use. It is also a place of historic, environmental and cultural significance.

But our city is always changing with more and more people wanting to call Melbourne home.

Those living near the WTP in the Wyndham area, one of the fastest growing municipalities in Victoria, know this better than anyone. Without improvements and innovations our enormous sewerage network would reach capacity and our waste would impact on the health of our environment.

What are we doing at the WTP?

That's why at Melbourne Water, we have been taking action and planning for the next 50 years to transform our sewerage system, so we can best treat and recover Melbourne's waste.

As part of this commitment, we are about to start construction on a new nutrient removal plant (NRP) at the WTP. While we have existing NRP’s, the benefits of the new one will be:

• increased capacity to better meet future population growth
• innovative technology to minimise the energy consumed in treatment.
• the latest advanced monitoring and controls improving safety for our staff by removing the need to dive and work over water.
• improved quality of the treated water we discharge, continuing to protect Port Phillip Bay’s environmental and recreational values.

Upgrades like this are essential to keeping our city healthy today, tomorrow and for generations to come.

Some of the ways we are working together at the WTP include:

• co-developing a partnership agreement between Melbourne Water and the Wadawarrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to guide how we work together and enable self-determination
• co-developing the Melbourne Water Cultural Fire Plan including partnering with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners to integrate cultural fire practices.
• exploring opportunities for partnerships in land and environmental management
• use of Wadawurrung language for room naming and procurement of artwork for our WTP Office at Cocoroc
• cultural awareness education for employees and contractors.

Using recycled water in our conservation wetlands

One of Victoria’s most popular birdwatching sites, the WTP welcomes over 300 bird species and is part of the wider 'Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula' Ramsar site. Ramsar sites are wetlands that are recognised as having international importance under the ‘Ramsar Convention on Wetlands’, with Australia one of the first countries to sign this convention in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.

The plant's lagoons, grasslands and coastline provide an ideal and varied habitat for many species – offering a permanent water supply, plenty of food, and little interference from humans.

There is one thing we do interfere in though. We call it ‘turning the tap on and off’ or the active management of our conservation wetlands. Through a seasonal program, treated class C recycled water is used to top up these wetlands and provides a nutrient rich water source. The water levels of these lagoons can then be adjusted to provide suitable conditions for various wildlife. For example, decreasing water levels to provide mudflats for foraging, or increasing water levels to provide deeper water for diving waterfowl.

WTP community webinar on 20 September

On Sunday 11 September, we partnered with Open House Melbourne to run our first community in-person tours at the WTP since before the pandemic. The day was a great success with over 130 community members attending and learning more about the fascinating WTP.

We know these tours are very popular and sell out very quickly. For those that missed out on a spot, we have partnered again with Open House Melbourne to deliver a special, guided virtual tour of the WTP on Tuesday 20 September 12–1pm.

Register for our free webinar and be guided by Melbourne Water’s education and heritage teams, with an opportunity to ask any questions you may have!

Keep informed and in touch

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If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to contact us via email [email protected] or telephone 131 722.