Much is happening at our Bendigo Water Reclamation Plant, as our teams begin work to deliver the most significant upgrade of the plant in a generation.

Coliban Water reached an exciting milestone for stage one of the Bendigo Water Reclamation Plant upgrade in May when we announced the award of an $82.6 million contract to LC Envico – a joint venture between Laurie Curran Water and CCB Envico.

The LC Envico team will help us create the new solids handling facility - one of the biggest infrastructure projects to be undertaken in Bendigo in recent years.

This once-in-a-generation upgrade will see the new solids handling facility constructed with new aerobic digestors that include thickening, dewatering and outloading systems. This facility will replace the existing part of the treatment process that takes the sludge from the wastewater and turns it into biosolids that are able to be used in farming.

Every time we flush our toilet, use the sink, or wash something down the drain, our plant in Epsom is where it ends up – and with the region’s population expected to approach 200,000 people by 2050, this project benefits every bum in Bendigo.

For more information about the upgrade visit connect.coliban.com.au/bendigo-wrp-upgrade-project

Recycled water is wastewater that’s been treated so it can be reused for other purposes. At our Bendigo plant, the treatment process produces Class B and C that is then treated to a Class A level at our Recycled Water Factory.

We are working to innovate, adapt and modernise our Recycled Water Factory so we are equipped to face the challenges of population growth and climate change. As our climate becomes hotter and drier, the need for a reliable water supply will continue to grow. Not only for agricultural use – but to keep our parks and gardens green and sustain our communities into the future.

As part of our upgrades, we have rebuilt and repainted a hydrochloric acid bund that helps contain any potential chemical spill. We use the hydrochloric acid to control the pH levels in different parts of the treatment process.

More upgrades are planned the Recycled Water Factory with the project team now entering a design phase for the next stage of works. This will be complete by September.

We are continuing to replace the inlet covers at the start of our treatment process. In April, we completed the replacement of one cover and are currently working on the second.

We expect these works to be completed in the coming weeks.

Replacing the inlet covers helps contain odours from sewage that arrive at the plant for treatment.

Learn more about how we manage odour at our plant here (under the Phase One tab of our website).

We encourage you to call us on 1300 363 200 to report odour. The more we receive these reports, the more we can build a picture of the areas of our plant that need the most urgent attention.

Our next update will be on Friday 8 August 2025.