Delivering a range of benefits for the Gippsland community
Wastewater treatment infrastructure
Gippsland Water Factory will provide the region with new wastewater treatment infrastructure that is much needed to replace the existing system, which involves raw sewage flowing 87 kilometres down the Regional Outfall Sewer, half of which is an open channel. The Gippsland Water Factory is being built with future generations in mind and is providing forward thinking foundation infrastructure that can be expanded when required.
When operational, the Gippsland Water Factory’s Maryvale treatment plant will use innovative technology to treat up to 35 million litres of Gippsland’s domestic and industrial wastewater each day. This wastewater will come from more than 15,000 homes and businesses in Traralgon, Morwell, Yallourn North, Boolarra, Toongabbie, Glengarry, Rosedale, Yinnar and Churchill, and Australian Paper’s Maryvale mill.
The overall system will service a population base of 48,000 and will leave an environmental and social legacy for Gippsland’s future generations.
Odour reduction
The Regional Outfall Sewer (ROS) was built in the 1950s and while it has been very effective in doing its job, the open channel section of the sewer is an ongoing source of community concern due to the odour it emits. The ROS starts at Morwell and runs east for 46 kilometres in a pipe, before turning into an open channel near Rosedale and continuing for another 41 kilometres to Duston Downs treatment facility. It carries raw, untreated sewage from the Latrobe Valley, Rosedale, Sale and Fulham.
In 1997 this odour resulted in Gippsland Water receiving a pollution abatement notice from the Environment Protection Authority. Removing raw sewage from the ROS is the key driver for the Gippsland Water Factory and will be achieved by treating the wastewater at the Maryvale plant before it is discharged down the ROS, free of the organics that cause the odour.
Fresh water savings
By recycling 8 million litres of wastewater a day and selling it to Australian Paper for use in its industrial processes, Gippsland Water Factory will free up fresh water in the Latrobe/Moondarra system. About three billion litres (1200 Olympic-size swimming pools) of fresh water will be saved each year for use in Gippsland; be it for environmental flows in our rivers, drinking, or to support further growth in the area.
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Community resource
Gippsland Water Factory’s Maryvale plant will feature a public education facility called the ‘Vortex Centre’, where all the family can learn more about water conservation and sustainable water management.
The Vortex Centre’s interpretive experience will highlight water as a precious resource and teach visitors specifically about Gippsland Water Factory; its technology, construction and community benefits. The themes for this experience were developed in consultation with local stakeholders who participated in a number of Vortex Centre workshops. The centre will also become the focus of Gippsland Water’s education program and feature interactive displays, capturing the passion and excitement that has gone into the project.
In addition to being a community education centre the Vortex Centre will house the GWF control room, laboratory and corporate facilities. |