Preparations for a significant upgrade at the Castlemaine Water Reclamation Plant are continuing but November was a chance to show the community how our plant and our plans for it that has us excited.

We know the plant is unique because of how close it is to the neighbouring community and Campbells Creek, which is why we wanted to give people a closer look.

On Saturday 8 November we welcomed the community to the Castlemaine Water Reclamation Plant at our open day.

As well as giving people a peek behind the curtain, we were able to celebrate the partnerships we have with community groups who use the area.

Friends of Campbells Creek, Castlemaine Pioneers and Old Residents Association, Bird Life Castlemaine, McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group and North Central Catchment Management Authority all showcased their work during the day at the Cemetery Reserve that sits next to the Castlemaine plant in Langslow Street.

These community groups spoke about their projects that benefit the area while our project team was able to update people on the upgrade.

The day was capped off with 60 people taking part in a guided tour of the plant site.

This included getting a close look at how wastewater is treated and turned into recycled water, as well as learning about what we have planned as part of the upgrades to the site.

Tour groups also listened to community group leaders about some of the collaborative work that has been done to restore native vegetation on Campbells Creek and support the platypus habitat.

Throughout the day the Castlemaine Lions Club kept people fed with a delicious barbecue.

The upgrade to our plant is a once-in-a-generation project which will serve the community for the next 30 years and help us face the challenges of climate change, ageing infrastructure, and a growing population.

We will soon be closing our Expressions of Interest stage to seek a contractor to build and operate the upgraded plant.

After this, we will go through the applications and shortlist them before moving to an Early Contractor Involvement phase in early 2026.

This phase will see us work in parallel with two shortlisted applicants to refine the project scope, technical requirements, delivery approach before we award a contract to the successful candidate in early 2027.

During October we completed odour system maintenance on our treatment process.

Before Christmas we are planning to complete maintenance on the biofilters at the plant, this will help minimise odours.

Our third blower has arrived and been installed to make the plant more efficient and reduce noise made as part of our treatment process. The last blower will be replaced in the next financial year.

We have also provided high quality recycled water to the Castlemaine Golf Club ahead of irrigation season.

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 in January 2026.