Eastern Treatment Plant

The Eastern Treatment Plant of Melbourne Water is an 1,100ha sewage treatment plant, located in the suburb of Bangholme in Victoria, Australia, 31 km south-east of Melbourne’s central business district. The plant's land is bordered by the Patterson River to the north, the Mornington Peninsula Freeway to the west, and the EastLink Tollway to the south and east.DescriptionThe plant was built in 1975 on an 1,100ha site. It treats around 40% of Melbourne’s sewage - about 330ML a day - from about 1.5 million people, mainly in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs. It generates its own electricity from biogas. Following treatment, some water is used as recycled water in the local area. The rest is pumped through a 56km pipeline to discharge into Bass Strait at Boags Rocks on the Mornington Peninsula.UpgradeAfter years of lobbying by community groups led by the Clean Ocean Foundation, 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.