Western Treatment Plant Explorer : Teacher Resources : Resource 29
Resource 29
Technological advancements at the Western Treatment Plant
About the activity
To complete this activity, you will need to be able to watch the video Smellbourne and have access to a computer simulation Western Treatment Plant Explorer. You will find the video in the 'videos' tab in 'Lagoon treatment complex'.
Where to find the video on the Western Treatment Plant Explorer
Background
The Western Treatment Plant at Werribee has been at the forefront of treating Melbourne's sewage for over 100 years. Before the sewerage system was built, wastes from homes and industry flowed into the Yarra River. This caused many problems including typhoid epidemics. At the time, Melbourne was known as Smellbourne.
Tasks
Watch the video Smellbourne and then use the computer simulation Western Treatment Plant Explorer to answer the following questions.
What were the first methods used at Werribee to treat sewage? What are the difficulties with these methods?
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With technological advances, the treatment of sewage has become more efficient and effective. Outline the new methods of treating sewage that are used at the Western Treatment Plant.
In the mid 1990s a report on Port Phillip Bay from Australia's science agency, CSIRO, gave it a clean bill of health, but warned that nitrogen, a by-product of sewage, needed to be reduced. Nitrogen creates algae and other weeds that deplete the supply of oxygen in the water, killing marine life.
These findings led Melbourne Water to set goals for the Western Treatment Plant to reduce the nitrogen levels in the treated effluent and to reduce the amount of treated effluent that is discharged into the bay.
How is Melbourne Water intending to reach these goals?