Official opening of Beenyup waste water treatment plant extension

6/11/96

A state-of-the-art waste water treatment plant extension in Perth's northern suburbs has been officially opened by Premier Richard Court.

The $18.7 million extension will increase the secondary treatment capacity of the Beenyup waste water treatment plant in Ocean Reef by 50 per cent.

"The plant can now process 112.5 million litres of waste water a day, enabling it to cope with a population of 550,000," Mr Court said.

Secondary treatment at Beenyup involves fine bubble aeration which incorporates removal of biological nitrogen to produce a clear effluent.

Most of the settled solids are returned to the aeration system until eventually the residue is delivered to the solids treatment area for recycling as a soil conditioner.

The Premier said the upgrading of the Beenyup plant was a further example of the advanced waste water technology used by the Water Corporation to protect Western Australia's environment.

"The Subiaco waste water treatment plant will soon become the first in the world to convert sewerage sludge to oil, while the Woodman Point plant is being upgraded to use a natural process to break down sludge into gas which will be used to produce surplus electricity for sale to Western Power," he said.

"Another important initiative was the construction of an industrial waste water treatment plant at an abattoir in Spearwood, to reduce high-strength industrial waste to a fraction of its strength so that it could then be sent through the corporation's drainage system and on to the Woodman Point plant.

"The corporation is also negotiating with industries along the Kwinana strip to examine the possibility of re-using treated waste water for industrial purposes.

"In this centenary year of the establishment of a public water supply in Perth, it is obvious to all that great advances have been made.

"One of the most significant of these is the State Government's $800 million 10-year Infill Sewerage Program which will connect more than 111,000 households to deep sewerage and remove the need for septic tanks.

"The program will help to sustain the health of rivers, lakes and wetlands along the Swan coastal plain."

Mr Court said that extensions to the Beenyup plant had increased its capacity by more than 3,000 per cent since it opened in 1970, treating 3.6 million lites a day.

Treatment had increased to 27 million litres a day in 1978 and the capacity doubled by 1984.

Within the next two years, work would start on yet another secondary treatment module to increase the capacity to 150 million litres a day.

The catchment for the plant extended from Scarborough Beach Road to Quinns Rocks and inland through Dianella and Bayswater to Midland and the foothills east of Midland.

Media contact: Casey Cahill 222 9455