The Sunbury Recycled Water Plant is set to receive a $53million upgrade that will increase the volume of wastewater the plant is able to treat from 5.9 to 9.2million litres a day.
Victorian Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water, Lisa Neville, recently announced that works have begun on the upgrade which will see a reduction in the amount of energy consumed per megalitre of effluent treated.
Despite the significant increase in treatment capacity, the innovative design means the upgrade will remain within the footprint of the existing treatment plant.
The project will involve the creation of new jobs in Sunbury during the plant’s construction and operation phases, with more than 50 full and part time jobs available during construction, including apprentices and trainees.
Recycled water produced at the plant is already used for irrigating crops and keeping sports grounds green year-round.
Improvements to the treatment process will result in the plant producing higher quality recycled water, widening its potential uses, including for watering household gardens.
The plant upgrade will be a key element in Western Water’s Integrated Water Cycle Management plan for Sunbury, which will support the Victorian Water plan which will be announced in late 2016.
Local residents and stakeholders are closely involved in the project, via the Project Reference Group which has been set up to provide input and feedback.
The upgrade is scheduled to be finished in early 2018.