Whyalla's water waste upgrade

Work is underway to upgrade SA Water’s recycled water plant in Whyalla, to enhance sewage treatment and the plant’s overall performance.

The work is part of a $200,000 investment and more than 1300 diffusers in the plant’s treatment basins will be replaced, improving the efficiency of the biological process that breaks down nutrients in sewage.

SA Water’s General Manager of Operations, Chris Young, said the diffusers distribute a constant supply of oxygen to help microorganisms remove the nutrients, an important step in recycling sewage.

“As we look to tackle the changing climate, our treatment plants have transformed into rich resource recovery centres that are now capable of creating sustainable sources of recycled water,” Young said.

“The process is a living, breathing beast and we need to keep it performing at an optimal level to maximise our recycled water supply. Replacing the diffusers every five years ensures we’re looking after our busy bugs.”

The plant was built in 2008 and currently supplies around 2.5 million litres of recycled water per day. Young said there won’t be any impact to local customers’ sewer services during the works and measures are already in place to manage any temporary increases in sewer odour from the plant.

The project is expected to take around seven weeks.