The Eastern Treatment Plant (ETP) of Melbourne Water

Melbourne Water

Melbourne Water is a government owned statutory authority that controls much of the water system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia including the reservoirs, and thesewerage and drainage system that services the city.- Overview :...

 is a sewage treatment

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

 plant

Physical plant

Physical plant or mechanical plant refers to the necessary infrastructure used in support and maintenance of a given facility. The operation of these facilities, or the department of an organization which does so, is called "plant operations" or facility management...

 that serves much of the city of Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, the state capital of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, south-eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The plant is at Bangholme

Bangholme, Victoria

Bangholme is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district and adjacent to the urban area. Its Local Government Area is the City of Greater Dandenong...

, 31 km south-east of Melbourne’s central business district

Melbourne city centre

Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...

 and adjacent to its south-eastern suburbs.

Description

The plant was built in 1975 on a 1100 ha site. It treats about 330 ML of sewage

Sewage

Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...

 a day, comprising 40% of Melbourne’s wastewater

Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...

 production, from about 1.5 million people, mainly in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs. It generates its own electricity

Electricity generation

Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...

 from biogas

Biogas

Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...

. Following treatment, some water is used as recycled water

Reclaimed water

Reclaimed water or recycled water, is former wastewater that is treated to remove solids and certain impurities, and used in sustainable landscaping irrigation or to recharge groundwater aquifers...

 locally. The rest is pumped through a 56 km pipeline

Pipeline

-Science and industry:* Pipeline transport, a conduit made from pipes connected end-to-end for long-distance fluid transport* Plastic Pressure Pipe Systems, for fluid handling* Milking pipeline, used on a dairy farm to transport fluid milk...

 to discharge into Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

 at Boags Rocks on the Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...

.

Upgrade

As of November 2011, the Eastern Treatment Plant was undergoing an upgrade to reduce environmental impact of the water discharge and increase water reuse applications of the water. The wastewater will be treated by ozone, biological filters, ultraviolet disinfection, and chlorine. The UV disinfection system that will be installed at the Eastern Treatment Plant will be the largest in Australia, consisting of 7 closed-vessel UV reactors.

Birds

Along with the nearby Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands

Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands

The Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands are a group of two principally freshwater swamps, totalling , lying in the suburbs of Aspendale, Edithvale, and Seaford in south-eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Together they form the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Ramsar Site...

, the ETP is part of the Carrum Wetlands Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 (IBA) and supports many bird species of regional, state, national and international conservation significance. Species for which the IBA is globally important are the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...

, Blue-billed Duck

Blue-billed Duck

The Blue-billed Duck is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck, with both the male and female growing to a length of 40 cm . The male has a slate-blue bill which changes to bright-blue during the breeding season, hence the duck’s common name . The male has deep chestnut plumage during breeding...

, Chestnut Teal

Chestnut Teal

The Chestnut Teal is a dabbling duck found in southern Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.-Description:The Chestnut Teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the Grey Teal....

 and Australasian Bittern

Australasian Bittern

The Australasian Bittern , also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.It is a large bittern, patterned and streaked brown, buff...

. There is no public access to the ETP for birdwatchers but the birdlife has been monitored since 1998 by monthly surveys conducted by Birds Australia

Birds Australia

Birds Australia may refer to:* Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, trading name Birds Australia* Birds of Australia, an article about Australian Birds* List of Australian birds, a list...

, with 177 species recorded for the site.