Educational Tours : Sewer Tour
Sewer Tour
Melbourne Water's Sewer Tour
The Sewer Tour, a distinctive element of the exhibition Melbourne: Stories from a City at Melbourne Museum, was developed in conjunction with Melbourne Water. The tour takes visitors on a journey through Melbourne's sewers, from households in Melbourne through to the Western Treatment Plant. Visitors operate the interactive tour, which features levers, taps, dials and two computer screens, as part of a simulated inspection of Melbourne's sewerage system.
The tour is a unique combination of 19th century museum dioramas and models, with a sophisticated computer-based interactive. It features striking computer graphics, based on footage from closed circuit cameras in the sewers, and includes a map to follow your progress through the system. Opportunities to 'pop up' out of manholes at some well known points along the way are also available. The tour incorporates a wide range of information on the history, technology and wild facts of the sewerage system, allowing an entertaining and informative overview of the Melbourne's sewerage processes.
The Sewer Tour is designed to help the public appreciate and understand Melbourne's sewerage system, which, along with the provision of quality drinking water, is one of the most crucial services in a city.
Experience the Sewer Tour
You can experience part of the excitement of the Sewer Tour through this site.
- Follow the journey from your household toilet through the sewerage system
- Follow the journey through the sewerage system to the Brooklyn Pumping Station
- Follow the journey from the sewerage system into the Western Treatment Plant
- Discover what is lost and found in the sewerage system
- Discover the diverse wetlands and birdlife at the Western Treatment Plant
- Discover how sewer activities are explored
- Visit the sewerage system control room
- Attend the 1892 ceremony which marked the beginning of a new sewerage system for Melbourne
- Help to dig the original sewer mains
To check out the complete Sewer Tour visit the Australia Gallery at the Melbourne Museum. For details contact the museum on tel: 8341 7777.