A $6 million upgrade to improve the water treatment process and increase capacity at the Moe Water Treatment Plant is set to benefit the growing communities of Moe, Coalville, Newborough, Yallourn North, Trafalgar and Yarragon.
The 50-year-old treatment plant located 3km south of the town centre has had a significant boost with the construction of a completely new system that is now able to cope with the three tonnes of sludge that is created each week when the water is treated to a high standard suitable for drinking.
The sludge is made up of dirt and other matter such as sticks and leaves that come into the plant from the Narracan Creek, which is where Gippsland Water takes the water supply for these towns.
Planning for this project began in late 2008 and construction started in 2011, after the existing sludge system was unable to cope with the demand.
Paul Clark, Gippsland Water General Manager Customer Service and Communications said that this new technology will dramatically improve the efficiency of the treatment plant and meet the demands of the growing Moe community.
“This is a huge investment for water infrastructure in Moe,” Mr Clark said.
“The Moe Water Treatment Plant in its former state was a $5 million plant, so what we have seen here is a further $6 million being invested into this site, so we have basically more than doubled the value of the plant with this upgrade.”
“The environmental benefits of this project also means that sludge waste will be collected and transported to Gippsland Water’s Soil and Organic Recycling Facility at Dutson Downs for reuse as compost on our farms, whereas before this wasn’t the case,” he continued.
“Water that comes in to all of our treatment plants require significant amounts of treatment -some plants more than others. Our organisation is responsible for around $1 billion worth of infrastructure, which includes more than 2,000 kilometres of water mains and 16 water treatment plants – including the Moe plant,” he concluded.
