Plant Upgrade Minimizes Wastewater Discharge into Ocean, Maximizes Production of Recycled Water

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Project Name: Eastern Treatment Plant Tertiary Upgrade
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Client: Melbourne Water Corporation

Melbourne Water Corporation’s Eastern Treatment Plant (ETP) processes 40 percent of Melbourne’s wastewater each day and serves 1.6 million people. It is the second-largest wastewater treatment plant in Australia and the largest activated sludge plant in the Southern Hemisphere.

The ETP produced chlorinated secondary effluent, which was discharged via a 56-km pipeline into the ocean. The discharge point at Boags Rocks was through a nearshore outfall, and the discharge was apparent to beach users and surfers.

Class A Recycled Water

In 2006, the Victorian Government announced that the ETP-treated effluent discharge was to be upgraded to reduce its environmental impact. The Eastern Tertiary Alliance (ETA), including Melbourne Water and Black & Veatch, was subsequently formed to deliver the plant upgrade.

Black & Veatch selected a process train of ozonation, media filtration, ultraviolet irradiation and chlorination that provided significant improvements to the quality of discharge into the environment.

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