Wastewater treatment is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater which has been received from both domestic and commercial customers. South Gippsland Water’s treatment plants use a number of processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. The objective is to produce an environmentally safe treated wastewater suitable for disposal or reuse
Wastewater treatment generally involves three stages of treatment: primary, secondary and tertiary treatment.
– Primary treatment consists of temporarily holding the sewage in a basin or clarifier where heavy solids can settle to the bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the surface. The settled and floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid is transferred to the next stage of treatment.
– Secondary treatment removes dissolved and suspended biological matter. Secondary treatment is typically performed by water-borne micro-organisms in a managed habitat. Secondary treatment may require a separation process to remove the micro-organisms from the treated water prior to discharge or tertiary treatment.
– Tertiary treatment allows further disinfection either chemically or physically (for example, by lagoons and microfiltration) prior to discharge into a creek or river or it can be used for the irrigation of pastures or sporting fields.
South Gippsland Water currently operates two types of wastewater treatment systems and two different types of wastewater collection system.