To celebrate National Water Week, students from Engineers Australia Student Ambassador group and RMIT University were treated to a site visit of the Western Treatment Plant 5West Nutrient Removal Plant (NRP) Project.
A new Nutrient Removal Plant (NRP) is being constructed at the Western Treatment Plant by BMD to improve energy efficiency and increase the capacity of the treatment facility, providing an additional 150ML of treated water per day. The nutrient removal plant has been designed to minimise the carbon and energy consumed in treatment, enabling the Western Treatment Plant to continue to maximise renewable energy generation into the future.
The visit commenced with Melbourne Water’s Education team acknowledging the historical significance of the Cocoroc site, emphasising that it’s not just a sewerage treatment facility and serves as a working farm and an internationally recognised bird habitat. This site showcases the intersection of agriculture, biodiversity, resource recovery, education, and ecotourism, all contributing to Melbourne's reputation for liveability.
During the visit, students were taken on a comprehensive tour of the project, covering the Nutrient Removal Plant (NRP), pump stations, ancillary buildings, and effluent discharge pipeline connections. The goal was to help students better understand the innovative design, project management, and the environmental considerations and measures in place as part of the upgrade.
BMD’s Delivery Manager of the 5West NRP Project, Trent Dunoon, said it was fantastic for our project teams to showcase their work on the Western Treatment Plant to students from Engineers Australia and RMIT University. This demonstrates a commitment to knowledge sharing and collaboration within the water industry, to the next generation of engineers.
Other BMD engineers were also on hand to highlight key features of the upgrade and answer questions, with BMD and Melbourne Water team providing an overall picture of the key improvements and future benefits the completed project will deliver. The combined expertise of BMD and Melbourne Water offered a comprehensive overview of the project's improvements and the future benefits it will bring.
Students were thrilled with the visit by BMD and Melbourne Water with some select students, expressing their enthusiasm for working in the water industry in the future.