The Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant in Western Australia.
It treats wastewater for a population of about 680,000 people living south of the Swan River in the Perth metro.
As the population in the catchment area continues to grow, additional treatment capacity is required at the plant.
The Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade project will see the plant’s capacity increase to 180 million litres per day, accommodating a population of more than 900,000. It is expected to be completed by late 2019.
Community Update -15 June 2018
Letter from the Project Director
Last month we shared with you details of the work we were completing to repair the Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant following an incident in late April.
This repair work is now finished, and the plant has returned, and will remain in its ‘interim operating mode’ for the next few months while we continue with the upgrade.
I appreciate there have been some days during the recent repairs when an odour has temporarily come from the plant, and I do apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
While the plant is in its interim operating mode, I do not expect odours to occur as part of the upgrade for many months, however I will be back in touch with the community in the lead up to any work that may result in temporary periods of odour.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing patience and support while we complete this important project, which is necessary to support future growth in Perth.
For more information about the upgrade, due for completion in 2019, visit watercorporation.com.au/woodmanpoint or if you have any questions, please phone Community Engagement Officer, Tarryn Truscott on 9420 3488 (during business hours) or email community.engagement@watercorporation.com.au.
PRECAUTIONARY ADVICE LIFTED FOR CAPE PERON
The Department of Health informed Water Corporation on 13 June 2018 the precautionary advice previously issued for a one kilometre area at the end of the Cape Peron Ocean Outlet, could be lifted.
Extensive ocean monitoring and water quality sampling at the end of the outlet, four kilometres off the beach at Cape Peron, helped inform this decision, as the water quality in the exclusion zone is back to normal and safe for people to recreate and fish.
We again apologise for any inconvenience for ocean users in this area as a result of the precautionary advice being in place.
Community update - 1 June 2018
- Work to repair and restart the aeration facility is complete.
- Following completion of this work we restarted operating the impacted part of the plant and restoring its biological process. This process can take weeks and is progressing as planned.
- We continue to monitor the plant and support its recovery. Full recovery remains expected by mid June.
- Additional odour control remains in place.
Community Update - 17 May 2018
Community Information Sheet
Water Corporation would like to provide you with an update on the significant upgrade project under way at the Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in Munster.
We recognise the upgrade has occasionally resulted in some odours that have been noticeable to the local community. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused, and reassure you we are doing all we can to reduce odours during the upgrade.
What is happening at the Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant?
Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant in Western Australia. It treats wastewater for a population of more than half a million people living south of the Swan River in the Perth metropolitan area. In early 2017 an upgrade project started at the plant to cater for future growth within the area it serves. The upgrade is expected to be completed by late 2019.
By mid-April 2018 a major portion of the upgrade was completed, and from this time onwards, we expected odours to considerably decrease.
However, in late April, there was a serious safety incident on site and work on the upgrade was temporarily put on hold. A part of the plant that aerates wastewater and helps to control odour was impacted by the incident, and equipment was turned off for safety reasons. This resulted in increased odour and understandably a number of local residents have contacted us to raise their concerns.
What is Water Corporation doing to reduce odour from the plant since the safety incident?
We have diverted some wastewater to other treatment plants in Perth, drained and cleaned tanks and installed temporary odour control. Once initial investigations into the safety incident are complete our priority will be to repair and restart the aeration equipment.
How long will odour affect the community?
The work to repair and restart the aeration facility was planned to start during week commencing 14 May 2018, and we estimate it will take about four weeks to fully complete this work. We expect you may notice a gradual reduction in odour levels as this work progresses. Additional odour control will remain in place during this period.
Once this work is complete, we do not expect odours to reoccur as part of the upgrade for many months. We will contact local residents to advise of the potential for occasional odour before that stage of the upgrade begins.
Why does the plant need to operate while it is being upgraded?
The Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant treats very large volumes of wastewater each day and it is not possible to divert all this wastewater to other plants.
Wastewater is collected from homes and businesses through a network of pipes and is treated before it is discharged offshore.
Where can I find out more and stay updated?
You can watch an animation that explains the upgrade, read community updates and register to stay informed at www.watercorporation.com.au/woodmanpoint or phone Tarryn Truscott from our Community Engagement team at 9420 3488.
Community update - 15 May 2018
- Investigations remain ongoing into a serious safety incident in late April and the plant continues to safely operate in an interim mode.
- Work will start this week to restore aeration to treated wastewater held within tanks onsite, which is one of the main causes of the odours. The restoration work is expected to be complete by end of June. Over this period odour levels are expected to gradually reduce.
- Additional odour control will remain in operation during the restoration period.
We continue to appreciate the patience of the community.
Community update - 8 May 2018
All construction work remains on hold at the Woodman Point Facility while investigations are completed into a serious safety incident.
The plant continues to operate safely and the below actions are being taken to mitigate odour impacts:
- We will continue to divert some wastewater away from the plant to other facilities in the network for treatment
- Additional odour control will be installed in an area of the plant that was impacted by the incident. Since the incident occurred we have been unable to aerate treated wastewater held within tanks onsite and this is one of the main causes of the odours.
The facility is expected to gradually return to normal operations once initial investigations into the incident have been completed, with the priority to restore the aeration facility.
We continue to appreciate the patience of the community.
Community update - 2 May 2018
All construction works remain suspended at the Woodman Point Facility while investigations are completed.
The plant remains in safe operation and the below actions have been taken to mitigate odour to the community:
- We are diverting as much flow of wastewater away from the plant to other facilities in the network
- Where possible, we have removed sludge from affected parts of the plant and emptied some of the affected tanks
- In coming days we will install additional odour control into the area of plant disrupted during the incident and we are finalising all planning to support the safe and efficient repair of the plant once we are able to.
We continue to appreciate the patience of the community over the next few weeks while we work with our Alliance partners to resolve this unexpected situation.
Community update - 26 April 2018
Letter from the Project Director
Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant – Potential temporary increase in odour
As we progress with the upgrade to the Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, I wanted to provide you with an update on odour impacts.
Thank you for the understanding you have shown so far, and again I want to reassure you we are doing all we can to try and minimise impacts on the local community.
You may have heard the sad news through media coverage on Friday last week that there was a serious workplace incident on site, which resulted in the death of a contractor working on the upgrade project.
Although we have been able to continue to operate the plant safely since this incident occurred, some disruption was caused to an area where the upgrade is taking place. At this stage we are uncertain of how long it will take to re-start work on the upgrade project and it is possible that you may notice some odours.
It was reassuring that prior to this incident occurring, odours had reduced significantly in the area, which was because we had transitioned to an interim operating mode around the 17 April.
Again, I am sorry you may be impacted by odours over the next few weeks while we work with our Alliance partners to resolve this unexpected situation.
I appreciate your patience and understanding while we complete the upgrade, which includes the installation of additional permanent odour control measures.
For more information about the upgrade, which is due for completion in 2019, visit watercorporation.com.au/woodmanpoint or phone Community Engagement Officer, Tarryn Truscott on 9420 3488.
Read a transcript of this video (new window)
Project Updates
Project Update Video 1 - May 2017
Project Update Video 2 - August 2017
Community Reference Group
The Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant Community Reference Group is a dedicated volunteer group that represents community members living in close proximity to the plant. The group is independently chaired and meets regularly to provide community insight and feedback to inform our operations.
If you would like more information, or to contact the group, please email community.engagement@watercorporation.com.au.