Upgrade wastewater treatment plant

To improve the quality of treated effluent

Black & Veatch has confirmed that the company will be part of the Eastern Tertiary Alliance that will deliver the tertiary upgrade of the Eastern Treatment Plant in Melbourne, the largest activated sludge plant in the country. This follows the success of Stage 1 of the project, where Black & Veatch was asked to lead a series of technology trials to determine the preferred treatment technology to be used.

The alliance also includes Melbourne Water - owners of the plant, Baulderstone/UGI - a joint-venture of two local construction firms, and KBR - an international engineering consultant.

The A$380m upgrade will greatly improve the quality of treated effluent discharged into the Bass Strait, with resulting benefits for the marine environment. The upgrade will also open the door to significantly more recycling opportunities over time and make the plant one of the most sophisticated large-scale wastewater treatment facilities in the world.

Black & Veatch was employed by Melbourne Water in 2008 to lead the technology trials that were successfully completed in early 2009. These trials determined that the preferred treatment processes for the upgrade would be ozone and biological media filtration coupled with ultraviolet and chlorine disinfection.

The construction phase will commence soon and is scheduled for completion in 2012.