Odour update – In the last two weeks we have started refurbishment of the Bendigo Water Reclamation Plant’s ATAD system.

ATADs are a key part of our wastewater treatment process that turns sewage sludge into a valued biosolids product for agricultural reuse. The treatment process has historically produced odours and these works aim to reduce the impact on our neighbours.

We will be draining and cleaning the tanks in early November before completing maintenance and rehabilitation on the ventilation and odour treatment system in the coming weeks before Christmas.

Learn more about the ATADs maintenance works here.

Work to desludge one of our storage lagoons will continue. We do not expect odour to be an issue during these works.

Improvements on our biofilters – including topping up the mulch and increasing irrigation – have been completed. In the next week we will ‘fluff up’ the top layer of mulch, which will help minimise odour.

These improvements came as recommendations from an odour expert who visited the Bendigo WRP.

Upcoming works – Plans to complete smoke testing of our ventilation pipework are being developed. This work will identify areas of improvement by sending smoke through our pipes to see how the air flows and find any leaks.

Upgrades the system that capture ‘rags’ – the items like wet wipes that come through our wastewater system which should not be there – are still being considered. This improved system will use a special type of bag to help contain odours. Please remember the three Ps – only flush Pee, Poo and Paper down your toilet.

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 6 December 2024.