Melbourne Water invest in nutrient recovery
Melbourne Water have invested in a nutrient removal plant which will have a significant positive impact on the environment.
The Western Treatment Plant, where 50% of Melbourne’s sewage is treated, will be able to process an extra 140ML of treated water per day – which is the same as filling 56 Olympic sized swimming pools.
While the plant already has two nutrient removal plants, this new construction will save more energy and is built with the latest advanced monitoring and controls.
This project is in line with the goals of the Intelligent Water Networks’ (IWN) Biosolids and Resource Recovery program, which is run by Christine Grundy from Coliban Water.
IWN’s program seeks to find a cost effective, efficient and environmentally friendly management plan for biosolids and has a number of projects investigating potential solutions, including the nutrient removal/recovery project, the biosolids to biochar project and the innovative use of biosolids to overcome subsoil constraints in the grain industry.
Talking about their completed project, Western Treatment Plant manager Martin Bowles was reported as saying: “Sewage is a valuable source of renewable energy and recycled water, and is contributing to our thriving wetlands.
“The Nutrient Removal Plant has been designed to minimise the carbon and energy consumed in treatment, enabling the Western Treatment Plant to continue to maximise renewable energy generation into the future.”