2002-03 annual report
DESCRIPTION
Melbourne annual reportTRANSCRIPT
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M ELBOURN E W ATERAnnual Report 2002/ 03
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Who we are 1
What we do 2
Who we work wit h 3
Why we produced t his report 3
Our goals 4
Chairman and M anaging Direct ors report 5
Our precious wat er 6
Managing our protected catchments 8
Providing safe, high quality drinking water 9
Managing drought 10
Investing in a sustainable future 11
Conserving a scarce resource 12
Recycling water towards a greener future 13Prot ect ing t he environment 16
The Western Treatment Plant 18
The Eastern Treatment Plant 18
Sustainable management of biosolids 20
Reducing greenhouse emissions 20
Our no-odour objective 21
Protecting our waterways and bays 21
Improving the health of Port Phillip Bay 25
Improving the health of Westernport 26
Education the key to behavioural change 26
Focusing on good result s 28A major benchmark managing built assets 30
Managing risk and maintaining high security 31
A safe workplace 32
Meeting our commitment to service delivery 32
Our people 35
Financial results 38
Key peformance indicators 40
Corporate governance 42
Financial st at ement s 44
Compliance index 72
St at ement of Corporat e Int ent 74
St at ut ory informat ion 77
Publications 77
Consultants 77
Government grants 78
National competition policy 78
Freedom of Information 78
Pricing changes 79
Privacy legislation 79
Energy and Water Ombudsman 79
Whistleblowers protection and procedures 79
Information available on request 79
CONTENTSMelbourne Water Annual Report 2002/ 03
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 1
Melbourne Water is owned by the Victorian Government.
Our operating area extends from Melbournes water
supply catchments high up in the Yarra Ranges, to
the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port, north
to Yan Yean and west to Werribee.
We are a significant business, managing $7.1 billion
of natural and built assets. Our annual operating revenue
of more than $510 million is earned from water supply,
sewage treatment and drainage rates. This is to fund our
operations and capital program, to pay off debt and return
dividends and equivalent taxes to the Government.
We plan to invest more than $145 million a year over the
next three years on our infrastructure including reservoirs,
sewage treatment plants, pumping stations, sewers and
drains to help ensure we meet our objectives. We are
committed to decision-making based on economic, socialand environmental considerations.
An independent Board of Directors is responsible for the
governance of Melbourne Water. The responsible Minister
is the Minister for Water.
Our people have diverse skills and expertise, and range
from environmental scientists to engineers and research
and technology specialists, and we place a high priority
on building strong partnerships and relationships in the
government, industry and community sectors.
WH O WE ARE
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Water
cycle
PRECIP ITATION
WATE
R
COLLE
CTION
& CATCHMENTM
ANAGEMENT
WATER SUPPLY
EVAPORATION
BAYS
& OCEANS
WATERWAYS
ST
ORMWA
TER MANAGEMENT
SEW
AGE TREATMEN
TWAT
ER RECYCLING
We protect bays and
oceans by building
wetlands to reduce
stormwater pollution,
improving the quality
of effluent discharged,
and reducing flows into
the sewage treatment
plants through water
conservation programs
We t reat sewage and
industrial wast e
collected by our retail
customers from homes
and businessesWe protect and improve
waterways by managing
irrigators, stabilising beds
and banks, preventing
flooding, fencing off stream
frontages, removing willows
and other weeds, planting
native species and releasing
water from reservoirs to
ensure environmental flows
We harvest high quality
water from uninhabited
catchments and store
water in reservoirs, often
for years at a time, to
help purification
We manage an
extensive network
of pipes, pumping
stations and water
treatment plants
and supply water
to our retail
customers
We supply
recycled water
for agricultural,
horticultural
and other
businesses and
to irrigate open
spaces such as
golf courses
We build wetlands
and other water-
sensitive features
to treat or remove
stormwater pollution
litter, engine oil
and other urban
runoff before it
washes into drains,
waterways and bays
2
We manage Melbournes water resources in a way that
aims to ensure that future generations enjoy one of the
best urban environments in the world. This involves a
major role in the total water cycle.
Our Vision
At Melbourne Water, we understand that engaging our
stakeholders is the key to achieving our vision of
Making Melbourne the worlds most water-sensitive city.
WH AT WE DO
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 3
Who we work wit hEPA Victoria, the Department of Human Services and the
Essential Services Commission regulate the environmental,public health and economic aspects of our business.
We work across several arms of the State Government,
including the Department of Sustainability and Environment,
and the Department of Treasury and Finance.
Our main customers are the retail water companies
City West Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water.
We also provide services to other water authorities, local
councils, land developers, businesses that divert river
water, and recycled water users.
Industry partners include AGL Ltd, which generates
electricity from biogas to help power the Western
Treatment Plant at Werribee, research organisations
such as the CSIRO and Co-operative Research Centres,
engineering consultants, and contractors who carry out
tasks ranging from inspecting and maintaining assets
to catchment surveillance and litter removal.
We work closely with a wide range of community
stakeholders including Friends of, Landcare, resident
and environment groups, advisory bodies, rural
landowners, and the education sector.
Our valuesWe have developed values that guide our decision-making
and enable the organisation to operate in a professional
manner, and in the best interests of our customers,employees, shareholder, suppliers and stakeholders.
We are people who:
recognise we achieve more by working with others
feel privileged to be custodians of our water resources
behave with integrity
attain excellence through creativity and innovation
celebrate our achievements and learn from our
experiences.
Why we produced this reportMelbourne Waters Annual Reportoutlines how we have
performed in meeting our key responsibilities in 2002/ 03.It explains how we provide a safe and reliable supply
of water, protect the environment, deliver business
improvements and help the Victorian Government
achieve its policy objectives.
We have a goal of ensuring that the community is well
educated and informed on water issues. This publication,
our Water Resources and the Environment 2 002 / 03 and
our Social Report 2002 / 03 are important steps towards
achieving this goal. Water Resources and the Environment,
and the Social Report will be available on Melbourne
Waters website www.melbournewater.com.au.
All of our reports are available on request by e-mailing
[email protected] or ringing 131 722 within
Victoria or (03) 9235 7100 from elsewhere in Australia.
A feedback form is provided at the back of this report,
and we welcome your comments.
OUR GOALSOur strategic plan outlines our goals underthe following priority areas:
Managing Melbournes WaterResources and t he Environment
Conserve Melbournes high quality,affordable drinking water for present andfuture generations without the need forfurther dams.
Operate in a manner that improvesthe environment.
Protecting our Waterways and Bays
Improve the health and amenity of PortPhillip and Western Port bays for theprosperity and enjoyment of present andfuture populations.
Ensure that Melbournes natural waterwaysare healthy with increased numbers ofnative fish, platypus and plant life.
Managing our Built Assets Ensure that the integrity of our water,
sewerage and drainage infrastructure iswell maintained and protected now andinto the future.
Responsible Financial Management
Remain Australias most efficient waterauthority and provide ongoing financialreturns to our owner, the VictorianGovernment.
Working wit h our Cust omers andthe Community
Provide excellent service.
The community is well educatedand informed on water issues.
A motivated and skilled workforce thatgenerates new ideas and is aligned withthe latest technologies and innovations.
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4
Silvan Dam
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 5
Melbourne Water continued to focus on sustainable
water resource management as Melbourne experienced
its seventh consecutive year of drought.
The Victorian Governments Water for the Futureprovided
the policy framework for the further development of water
recycling and water conservation programs. Melbourne
Water is committed to helping the Victorian Government
meet its key targets of reducing per capita water
consumption by 15 per cent, and increasing water
recycling to 20 per cent, both by 2010.
We have played a leading role in the past few years in
the development of the Victorian Governments Water
Resources Strategy for Melbourne. This strategy sets
a solid framework for the future. Building on the
knowledge gained from the strategy, Melbourne Water
developed a water conservation plan that will save13,000 million litres of drinking water a year by 2010.
The plan aims to broaden initiatives that are already
delivering water savings, including reducing leakage
from our operations, producing sustainable water use
plans with councils, building industry partnerships,
educating and engaging the community, and initiating
water recycling schemes. A consolidated sustainable
water plan is now being developed with Melbournes
retail water companies.
Water recycling increased by about 80 per cent this year
to 31,165 million litres, up from 18,439 million litres for
2001/ 02, with supply beginning to our first recycling
customers west of Melbourne. We also made significant
progress in examining future opportunities presented by
the Victorian Governments Werribee Plains Visionfor
major recycling schemes to service a variety of industries
and revitalise dryland areas from the Maribyrnong River
west to Geelong, Bacchus Marsh and Sunbury.
While drought, water conservation and water recycling
were priority issues, we also continued to ensure that our
management of water, sewerage and drainage infrastructure
was paramount for our business. We implemented a
$118 million program in infrastructure this year.
Melbourne Water is in the final stages of a major upgrade
of our Western Treatment Plant and further developedplans for a major upgrade of our Eastern Treatment Plant.
Investments in these upgrades will protect the marine
environment, deliver tertiary-treated water from our
sewage treatment plants, open up new recycling
opportunities, create economic growth and help us
meet community expectations.
Effective long-term planning is essential for Melbourne
Water and our new strategic plan was completed in March
2003. The plan was developed to provide a clear summary
of our business objectives, goals and actions to support
the achievement of our vision of Making Melbourne the
Worlds most water-sensitive city. Importance is also
given in the plan to responsible financial management
and to our management of major water, sewerage and
drainage infrastructure.
Research is a critical element in planning for the future.
Our people work with expert external organisations such
as the Co-operative Research Centres, the CSIRO and
universities in collaborative projects that maximise the
impact of research funds. We invested $2.5 million
in research and development programs this year. Key
research areas were treatment technology, waterwaysenvironment, drinking water and water recycling.
Studies were commissioned to investigate the impact of
climate change in greater Melbourne, and on how we can
maximise the use of Melbournes total water resources
including stormwater, treated effluent, as well as drinking
water. The latter study is being undertaken by Professor
Peter Cullen, a former Chief Executive of the Co-operative
Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, and Professor
Russell Mein, a leading figure in urban hydrology,
catchment yield, flood estimation and salinity.
Financial results
Responsible financial management is a major priority
and we generated strong returns this year. Net cash
from ordinary activities of $324.7 million enabled us
to invest $117.9 million in assets for the future, reduce
our debt by $21.3 million and pay taxes and dividends
of $123.1 million to the Victorian Government. Net
profit after tax was $150 million, which was $18.4 million
better than our plan.
Looking ahead
We acknowledge the expertise and willingness of
our people to take on new challenges and to commit
to continuous improvement. An area of particular
importance is to improve our occupational health
and safety performance.
In the coming year we look forward to working with the
Victorian Government and other key stakeholders to
achieve the targets established in our strategic plan.
Our investment in education will continue as will our
commitment to providing safe, high quality drinking
water and to protecting and improving Melbournes
bays and waterways.
Graeme W Bowker Brian R Bayley
Chairm an Managing Director
CHAIRM AN AND M ANAGIN G DI RECTORS REPORT
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6
OUR PRECIOUS W ATERManaging Melbournes Water Resources and the Environment
Goal: We cont inue to conserve M elbournes high qualit y, affordabledrinking water for present and future generations without the
need for further dams
Achievements
Key Challenges
Disappointments
> Maintaining the communitys enthusiasm for water conservation even during periods of high rainfall.
> Implementing recommendations of the Water Resources Strategy as agreed by the VictorianGovernment.
> Developing contingency plans to counter the impact of climate change on our water resources.
> Developing a more integrated approach to managing available water resources, including theuse of groundwater, stormwater and treated effluent.
Unchlorinated water entered the system after a power failure at the Silvan treatment plant.However, timely action avoided any impact on customers.
Dirty water complaints were received when we were required to lower water levels at SilvanReservoir to carry out works on a water main.
Further delays to upgrading drinking water for Mornington Peninsula residents becauseobtaining permits for reservoir covering and replacement at Dromana, Frankston andMornington has taken longer than expected.
We provided our customers with 483,000 million litres of drinking water that enabled the retailwater companies to meet consistently high levels of service.
A major study of catchments in southern Australia found that Melbournes protectedcatchments provide the same or better water quality as that from an unprotected catchmentwith a water filtration plant.
Our drinking water experts were invited to present to the worlds first water safety and riskmanagement conference held in Berlin on Melbournes unique water quality management system.
Played a key role in helping the Victorian Government to complete a Water Resources Strategyfor greater Melbourne. We committed $50,000 this year for the preparation of the finalstrategy, making a total commitment of $850,000.
Completed a water conservation action plan that outlines initiatives to save 13,000 millionlitres of water a year to help achieve the Victorian Governments target of 15 per centreduction in water consumption by 2010.
Piloted a sustainable water management strategy with the City of Melbourne to cut its water
consumption by 15 per cent. This will now be used as a template for other councils who canapply for grants of $10,000 each.
Prepared drought contingency plans that will supply a further 170,000 million litres of waterto Melbourne should extreme conditions persist.
A market research study found 97 per cent of people surveyed were able to estimate the levelof Melbournes water storages.
Increased water recycling from our sewage treatment plants by about 80 per cent, recyclingmore than 11 per cent of treated effluent.
Invested $1.4 million on a range of industry and community education programs includingtraining workshops to accredit plumbers and gardeners in sustainable water practice.There are now 350 plumbers with Green Plumber accreditation in Melbourne.
Invested $200,000, in a partnership with the Victorian Governments Office of Housing,to reduce water usage in public housing estates by recycling stormwater to irrigate gardens.
Began supplying recycled water to the Werribee Tourist Precinct after completing a $2.5 million,six-kilometre pipeline from the Western Treatment Plant.
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 7
Water UpdateGeorge KalogerinisYellow Cab Taxi Service
Yellow Cab taxi driver George Kalogerinisis one of Melbournes informed taxidrivers who has our latest water storagereport at his fingertips to pass on tohis passengers. Storage informationand water-saving messages are sent
to Yellow Cabs each day and distributedto the companys taxis via their internalcommunication network.
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M anaging our prot ect ed catc hment sMost of our water comes from 140,000 hectares of
uninhabited, forested catchments high up in the YarraRanges that have been closed to the public for more than
100 years. Melbourne is one of only about five cities in
the world that has protected water supply catchments.
Melbourne Water manages these catchments to ensure
the purity of the source of our drinking water. We believe
it is better to start with the highest quality source water
than having to filter it to reach required standards.
The forests act like a vast natural sponge, catching,
holding, filtering and slowly releasing rainwater into
streams and then reservoirs. About half of Melbournes
catchments are covered in mountain ash, which are
among the worlds largest hardwood trees.
Safeguarding these catchments to ensure the highest
quality source water is a major priority for Melbourne
Water. Bushfires, erosion and unauthorised public entry
are the main risks we manage.
Melbourne Water spends about $1.3 million a year to
manage these risks as part of our work to ensure the
highest possible quality source water.
Roads that run through the catchments have been built
to provide good access for firefighters. Drainage and
maintenance works on these roads are carried out
to minimise sediment run-off into streams and
eventually reservoirs.
In recent years, Melbourne Water has upgraded signage
and security systems in the catchments. Security officers
employed to minimise public access apprehended 40
people in the catchments this year.
Reviewing the risk of bushfires
Melbournes forested catchments are at risk from fire
each year. A burned forest will wash soot, ash and debris
into reservoirs, affecting short-term water quality, as
experienced this year in Canberra and Victorias north-east.
However, fire also affects the quantity of water that runs
off into streams and reservoirs. Forests of mountain
ash need large quantities of water for many years
after a bushfire.
Given the serious wildfire threat this year, Melbourne
Water worked closely with other statutory authorities, and
our catchment operations people ensured all equipment,
tanks, bulldozers, pumps and auxiliary equipment were
fully operational.
Melbourne Water attended 15 fires that could have
threatened our assets. Only one of these, at Frankston
Reservoir, developed into a significant blaze, burning
40 hectares of land around the reservoir in January 2003.
We took preventative action by diverting and filtering any
run-off from subsequent rainfall, avoiding water
contamination from ash, soil and debris.Following this years extreme fire season, Melbourne
Water is undertaking a strategic review of our approach
to fire protection and suppression, and reviewing the
vulnerability, risks and liabilities to wildfire of our water
catchments and water supply assets.
Following the devastating bushfires of early 2003, North
East Water, based in Wodonga, and ActewAGL, the ACT
water authority, sought expert advice from Melbourne
Water as part of their catchment rehabilitation planning.
Melbourne Water intends, where appropriate, to include
these findings in our bushfire planning.
Proving the value of our catc hments
A key research and development project completed during
the year was a three-year study investigating dry and wet
weather run-off quality, and the incidence of pathogens in
catchments with different land uses in southern Australia.
The study showed that our protected catchments supply
the same or better water quality as that from an
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O U R P R E C I O U S W A TE R
M eet ing the fire threatJim TiteSection Leader, Headwork s Maint enance
Not many people realise Melbourne Water isresponsible for four crucial fire tower lookoutsduring the summer fire season in pristineforest east of Melbourne.
They also dont realise that about 50 Melbourne
Water firefighters assisted the Country FireAuthority and the Department of Sustainabilityand Environment with the battle last summerto contain one of Victorias worst bushfires.
A decision made last year to reform our full-time firefighting unit couldnt have come ata more crucial time.
Those 20 Melbourne Water firefighters,together with another 30 summer casualfirefighters, not only looked after MelbourneWaters catchments, but were also in the thickof it in the north-east of the state where the
worst fires came through. They were availablein shifts around the clock providing importantequipment, vehicles and just plain manpower.
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unprotected catchment with a water filtration plant. This
means that there would be no public health benefit to be
gained from filtering our water.
Project Co-ordinator Dr David Roser said: The protected
catchments seem to produce far better water quality than
the impacted catchments, including what can be expected
by conventional water treatment.
Providing safe, high qualitydrinking waterOur water is safe and pleasant to drink, and undergoes
minimal treatment. A range of risk management systemsprovides barriers to contamination.
Melburnians place a high value on our drinking water,
which has a reputation for being among the most
pleasant and safe in the world.
In recent years, about 10 per cent of Melbournes water
has come from Sugarloaf Reservoir, which is mainly filled
by pumping from the Yarra River, and a further five per
cent from Yan Yean Reservoir in the Plenty River valley,
Melbournes oldest and shallowest water storage. Water
from these reservoirs requires full filtration and disinfection.
Ensuring water quality
The water we supply must be safe, pleasant to drink andmeet the requirements of:
National Health and Medical Research Council drinking
water guidelines
Victorian Government Health (Quality of Drinking Water)
Regulations 2002
Health (Fluoridation) Act 1 97 3
Food Act 1984.
Our risk m anagement system
Melbourne Water treats and supplies drinking water
using a risk management system that assures its
quality and safety.
The system, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
(HACCP), was originally adopted by the food industry.
It focuses on quality management from the catchment to
the tap, rather than end-point testing, by identifying risks
and establishing control points. Melbourne Water was one
of the first water authorities to apply the HACCP system
to drinking water.
Our quality and safety management systems are formally
certified and audited by Lloyds Register Quality
Assurance. This includes HACCP and international
standard ISO 9001 for drinking water quality, and ISO
14001 for environmental management.
Lloyds undertakes a recertification process every three
years and a surveillance audit every six months. Lloyds
visited Melbourne Water for a surveillance audit in July
2002 and for a recertification audit in February 2003.These audits covered both drinking water and
environmental management systems.
Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 9
French
Island
Phi l l ip
Island
Port Phil l i p
Bay
YARRA
RIVER
MELBOURNE
City West
WINNEKE TP
YERING GORGE
PUMPING STATION
PRESTONSt ALBANS
BROADMEADOWS
COWIES HILL
GARFIELDPAKENHAM
TYABB
DROMANA
Mt VIEW
LILYDALE
OLINDA
HALLAM NORTHDANDENONG
MONBULK
PLENTYYARRA GLEN
CRANBOURNE
MORNINGTON
N
2010
Kilometres
0 LEGEND
City WestWater
Yarra ValleyWater
South EastWater
TARAGO
RESERVOIR
UPPER YARRA
RESERVOIR
THOMSON
RESERVOIR
MAROONDAH
RESERVOIR
RUNNING CREEK
RESERVOIR
TOOROURRONG
RESERVOIR
YAN YEAN
RESERVOIR
GREENVALE
RESERVOIR
FRANKSTON
RESERVOIR
SILVAN
RESERVOIR
CARDINA
RESERVOIR
BEACONSFIELDRESERVOIR
DEVIL BEND/ BITTERN
RESERVOIR
(DECOMMISSIONED)
SUGARLOAF
RESERVOIR
Water Supply Catchment
Water Storage Reservoirs
Water Service Reservoirs
Water Pumping Stations
Water Treatment Plant
Water Pipelines, Aqueducts
Retail Water Company
OSHANNASSY
RESERVOIR
Melbourne Water Water Supply System
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Framework for wat er quality
Two of our Research and Technology managers helped
revise the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines,
administered by the National Health and Medical
Research Council. The revised guidelines, due for
publication in late 2003, will include the Framework for
the Management of Drinking Water Quality, incorporating
the principles of HACCP.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has
removed the use of total coliforms as a measure of faecal
contamination from the new draft guidelines, leaving
E. col i as the primary compliance indicator, consistent
with Melbourne Waters approach.
Managing droughtAt 30 June 2003, we were in the seventh year of the most
severe drought on record. Melbournes water storages had
fallen to 40.4 per cent of capacity. And the period from
June 2002 to June 2003 was the driest since records
began in 1855.The community responded positively to the introduction in
November 2002 of water restrictions the first in 20 years.
We estimated that approximately 29,000 million litres of
Rainfall and run-off for Melbourne catchments
water more than enough to fill Maroondah Reservoir
was saved between November 2002 and June 2003
through restrictions and increased community awareness.
Balancing the needs of the environment and irrigators
Melbourne Water is responsible for managing the amount
of water taken from waterways in the Yarra, Stony, Kororoit,
Laverton, Skeleton and lower Maribyrnong catchments.
We issue licences to customers, which enable them to
take water for their homes, farms, market gardens,
vineyards and other businesses.
We work with diverters to develop plans that balance the
needs of all stream users and the environment. These
plans help diverters understand their security of water
supply and plan for the future, and provide greater
certainty during drought.
This year, Melbourne Water introduced restrictions and
bans in the Yarra and Maribyrnong catchments as several
waterways reached minimum flow levels or stopped
flowing altogether.
These bans included businesses licensed to divert water
in the Diamond Creek, Plenty River, Watts River, Hoddles
Creek, Stringybark Creek, Wandin Yallock Creek, PaulsCreek, Steels Creek and Dixons Creek catchments.
Many of these bans remained in place at 30 June 2003.
In the Maribyrnong catchment, bans were introduced on
diverters in January 2003 as a result of extremely low
river flows and depletion of Melbourne Waters share of
water in Rosslynne Reservoir. The ban was eased in April
2003, and diverters were allowed to take the balance of
their 15 per cent allocation over the following months.
Across the Yarra catchment, Level One restrictions were
introduced in November 2002. These were upgraded to
Level Two in December 2002 and Level Three in J anuary
2003. Restrictions were eased to Level Two in May 2003.
Exemptions included water required for private vegetable
gardens and essential domestic and stock use, and
emergency fire protection.
10
O U R P R E C I O U S W A TE R
Leading the world in drinkingwater safet y
16001800
1992/93
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Catchment Run-off (mm)
Catchment Rainfall (mm)
In April 2003, two Melbourne Water drinking water
experts addressed the worlds first water safety and
risk management conference held in Berlin. The
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) risk
management system that we use to ensure drinking
water quality was a key focus of the conference.
Microbiologist Melita Stevens, Manager of Drinking
Water Research, presented the World Health
Organizations approach to HACCP water safety plans.
The text for these plans, developed by Dr Stevens and
several other scientists, contains guidance for thethird edition of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water
Quality, due for release late in 2003.
Water Quality Engineer Kevin Hellier spoke about
Melbourne Waters experience with developing and
implementing a HACCP plan for drinking water supply.
Dr Stevens organised and moderated the first HACCP
workshop for drinking water in the United States.
The workshop was held in Seattle in November 2002.
She is principal investigator in a project to develop a
model plan for the supply of safe drinking water in the
United States, based on HACCP. The two-year project
won US$150,000 of funding from the American WaterWorks Association Research Foundation.
This year Dr Stevens also ran a HACCP workshop for
Victorian regional water authorities.
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 11
Investing in a sust ainable future
Our water challenge
A fundamental challenge for present and futuregenerations of Melburnians is to live within our water
means. The citys population will continue to grow,
increasing demands on water. Melbournes current water
supply and storages are limited, and we recognise that
the environmental and social costs of new dams are
unacceptably high.
Planning for the long t erm
A Water Resources Strategy for greater Melbourne, led
and principally funded by Melbourne Water, was presented
to the Victorian Government in October 2002. Melbourne
Water has contributed a total of $850,000 to the long-
term strategy.
The strategy proposed a blueprint for maintaining a safe,
reliable, and financially and environmentally affordable
water supply, which will cope with the predicted growth in
Melbournes population of 32 per cent over the next 50 years.
In its initial response, the Victorian Government adopted
10 of the initiatives proposed in the strategy, including
leading the development of national water efficiency
labelling standards, encouraging the use of water-efficient
appliances, education campaigns, research, and the
development of water management plans for large
industrial users. The Government is considering further
recommendations regarding environmental management,
water pricing and regulation of water-efficient appliances.
The planning committee comprised representatives from
government and non-government organisations, the
farming sector, and scientific and academic institutions.
Studying climate change
During October 2002, Melbourne Water sent two senior
managers to Britain, Spain and the United States to
study water resources planning for climate change. The
visit allowed us to benchmark Melbourne Waters water
resource management planning, and revealed it to be
world class. The high variability of our streamflow means
that we are relatively experienced in considering
climate uncertainty in our planning.Following the overseas visit, we commissioned an
investigation of the impact of climate change on
Melbournes water supply. The study, being conducted
by the CSIRO and due to be completed in 2003/ 04,
is examining climate change projections for Melbournes
catchment and service areas, including possible changes
in rainfall, temperature, evaporation and humidity.
The study will assess the implications of climate change
on catchment fire risks, sea level changes, flooding, water
quality and water recycling. It will also identify likely future
developments that could affect the demand for water and
opportunities to enhance the reliability of our water
supplies. Melbourne Water will use the study results
in its contingency planning.
Optimising our water resources
At the end of the year, we commissioned a study by eminent
environmentalist Professor Peter Cullen and notedhydrologist
Professor Russell Mein that will examine ways of optimising
the use of water resources in greater Melbourne.
The study will consider the most appropriate ways of
using an abundant supply of high quality effluent that
will become available as a result of major upgrades of
Melbournes two major sewage treatment plants. It aims
to guide integrated water resource management
throughout Melbourne in the next 20 years.
Placing a high value on our water
This year, a positive community response to water
conservation messages, the understanding of water
storage levels and the introduction of water restrictions
helped curb Melbournes water consumption, despite a dry
summer. Peak daily consumption of 2212 million litres
well below the maximum historic daily peak levels of more
than 3000 million litres was recorded on 25 J anuary
2003 when the temperature reached 44.1 degrees.
Melbourne Water continued working to increase
community understanding and awareness of drought.
These education programs aim to ensure the community
values and appreciates our water, leading to long-term
behavioural change.
In our annual tracking study, held in October 2002, 97
per cent of Melbournians surveyed were able to estimate
the level of Melbournes water storages. And 60 per cent
of people said the water storages were between 50
and 59 per cent full, which was correct at the time
of the survey.
A Newspoll market research study conducted in mid-June
2003, found that more than six in 10 respondents knewthe storage level within two percentage points, and 44
per cent of respondents knew the exact storage level.
Dasarath Jayasriya, manager in our Resources and Environment
group, has developed a Memorandum of Understanding with theMunicipal Association of Victoria to assist councils implement
sustainable water use plans.
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O U R P R E C I O U S W A TE R
The study found that this result was due to television
weather bulletins, our newspaper and radio advertisements,
and strategically located billboards featuring electronic
displays of our water storage levels.
Information on Melbournes water supply system was
translated into 10 languages for ethnic press and radio
advertisements throughout the year.
Melbourne Water also participated in the planning of a
major behavioural change campaign undertaken by the
Victorian Government.
Conserving a scarce resourceMelbourne Water is developing and implementing water
conservation programs that minimise wastage in our
system, reduce demand through more efficient use, and
substitute drinking water with recycled water for purposessuch as garden watering to meet the Victorian
Governments policy objective to reduce water
consumption by 15 per cent by 2010.
The context of this challenge is increasing demands
on the resource, driven by population growth and
development, and climate change, which has the
potential to impact on our water resources.
Our action plan
During the year, in consultation with CSIRO Urban Water,
we developed a Water Conservation Action Plan that
proposes initiatives to achieve water savings of 13,000
million litres a year by 2010.
The plan proposes industry partnerships, community
education and engagement, management efficiency
and water recycling to deliver the savings by increasing
sustainable water use in the community, improving
understanding of our water resources, and changing
patterns of behaviour among young people.
Innovative partnerships wit h industry
This year we invested $1.4 million on a range of
industry and community education programs including
training workshops to accredit plumbers and gardeners
in sustainable water practice.
The landmark GreenPlumbers Caring for our Waterprogram was expanded, with a further 150 plumbers
achieving accreditation. There are now 350 plumbers
with GreenPlumberaccreditation in Melbourne.
The program, run by Melbourne Water and the Master
Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of
Australia, teaches plumbers and plumbing apprentices
about water conservation, stormwater pollution and waste
disposal methods so that they can provide better advice
to the community.
The Senate Environment, Communications, Information
Technology and the Arts Reference Committee said
in its report The Value of Water: An Inquiry into Australias
Urban Water M anagement, that the program shouldprovide the model for similar accreditation programs
targeting all professions with a role in
water management.
This year we developed the GreenGardeners accredited
training program with partners Sustainable Gardening
Australia, Landscape Industries Association of Victoria,
Holmesglen Institute of TAFE and Environs Australia.
Landscape gardeners and nursery staff across
Melbourne can attend workshops on sustainable
gardening presented by qualified trainers. The training
workshops, which began in June 2003, provide
information on issues such as stormwater run-off,use of chemicals and fertilisers, non-invasive plants
and water conservation.
We also provided funding for a pilot project in 12 garden
centres and nursery businesses to increase community
awareness of the environmental impact of gardening
and landscaping.
Melbourne Water is extending our commitment to training
industry professionals in water management by developing
programs for builders and architects.
Stormwater recycling at public housing estates
Melbourne Water is investing $200,000 during 2003
to roll out a water conservation program in Melbourneshigh-rise public housing estates. The program,
a partnership with the Victorian Governments Office
of Housing, will reduce water usage in public housing
estates by recycling stormwater to irrigate gardens.
A pilot program at Prahrans King Street housing estate
will save more than 150,000 litres of drinking water a
year. A stormwater and greywater recycling project planned
for the Atherton Gardens estate in Fitzroy is designed
to save six million litres of drinking water a year.
Partners in sustainability
Melbourne Water is working with councils to develop
customised sustainable water use plans. This follows apilot project in late 2002 with the City of Melbourne that
developed a sustainable water management strategy and
created a template for other councils.
Sue Brooker, one of the first graduates of the Melbourne Water
GreenGardeners training program, is passionate about changing
attitudes to garden maintenance and design.
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 13
In June 2003, in a joint project with the Municipal
Association of Victoria, we made $300,000 available
to other metropolitan councils over two years for the
development of sustainable water use plans. Each
council is invited to apply for a grant of $10,000 to
fund a tailored plan.
Municipal Association of Victoria President Brad Matheson
said the program demonstrated local governments
long-term commitment to working in partnership with
communities and other stakeholders to address
water conservation.
This is a practical example of how state and local
government agencies are working together to deliver
tangible water savings while encouraging all people to
be responsible for conserving their water use, he said.
Other practical examples, also involving energy use, willbe demonstrated as part of a partnership between the
Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria and Melbourne
Water. Under the partnership, established in April 2003,
projects will be developed to showcase sustainable water
and energy management.
Minimising leakage from our system
Melbourne Water delivers drinking water via 1000
kilometres of distribution mains and more than 200
kilometres of aqueducts and tunnels.
We invest about $100,000 a year rehabilitating and
reducing leakage from our aqueducts, most of which
were built in the 1880s. The aqueducts transfer waterfrom Melbournes reservoirs to our seasonal storages.
Work during the year included rehabilitation of the Wallaby
Aqueduct in Kinglake and Maroondah Aqueduct near Yarra
Glen. We estimate this program saved 1070 million litres
of water during the year.
Recycling wat er t owardsa greener futureA valuable water resource
Water recycling is a key part of creating a sustainable
water supply for Melbourne. Water recycling reduces
the discharge of treated effluent to bays and the ocean,creates economic growth, and conserves supplies of our
precious drinking water, which in turn can defer the need
to build further water storages.
Melbourne Water believes that treated effluent should
be regarded as an important and valuable water resource.
People in and around our city use almost 500,000 million
litres of water a year for a variety of industrial, commercial,
farming and household purposes. Many of these uses do
not require drinking quality water.
Melbourne Water is investigating a range of water
recycling schemes using treated effluent, from our Eastern
Treatment Plant at Bangholme and our Western TreatmentPlant at Werribee, in agriculture, horticulture and
vineyards, or to irrigate golf courses and sporting fields.
The challenge is to ensure these schemes achieve
sustainable, economic and social outcomes.
This year we supplied 1979 million litres of recycled water
to 34 customers and used another 31,186 million litres
within our sewage treatment plants more than 11 per
cent of the total discharge from these plants and a
significant increase from the previous year.
The Victorian Government, in its Water Recycling Action
Plan announced in October 2002, set a target to increase
water recycling in Melbourne to 20 per cent by 2010.
Developing opport unities west of M elbourne
Low rainfall, concentrated land ownership and large areas
of land that could be improved by irrigation present major
opportunities to expand water recycling schemes inMelbournes west, using an abundant supply of high
quality recycled water from the Western Treatment Plant.
Seizing new opportunitiesRoss YoungGroup Manager, System Planning
About 20 per cent of our high quality drinkingwater gets flushed down the toilets, andanother 30 per cent goes directly on togardens. Victorias prolonged drought has hithome to everyone that this practice is simplynot sustainable.
The dilemma spend billions on a new damor a fraction of that implementing better
water practices. The new frontier in waterthat Melbourne Water has embraced is betterintegration of drinking water, stormwater andrecycled water. The best way we can see thatapplied is in new housing estates.
Every day about 20 new homes are completedin Melbourne, so we really need to seize theopportunity to make sure that theseintegrated water applications are in placeas soon as possible.
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Werribee Tourist Precinct
Supply of recycled water to the Werribee Tourist Precinct
began this year after the completion of a six-kilometre
pipeline from the Western Treatment Plant. Some 84
million litres was used by 30 J une 2003.
This project, our first offsite recycling scheme in the
Western region, will supply about 160 million litres of
recycled water a year to the Werribee Park Golf Course
and the National Equestrian Centre. The pipeline is
designed to accommodate the future requirements
of other potential customers in the precinct, including
Victorias Open Range Zoo and Parks Victoria (which
runs the Werribee Mansion).
Balliang district
The Balliang district, north-west of the Western Treatment
Plant, contains 70,000 hectares of land in a low rainfallarea, readily accessible to the transport and infrastructure
of Melbourne and Geelong. A Melbourne Water-led
engineering study completed in December 2002 explored
the potential of a trunk pipeline to supply recycled water
from the Western Treatment Plant to the district.
The pipeline could irrigate up to 10,000 hectares of dry
cropping land, significantly increasing agricultural and
horticultural production. Major issues to be addressed
are the salt content in the effluent and environmental
issues associated with large scale dryland irrigation.
Developing opportunit ies east of M elbourne
The Eastern Treatment Plant has sold recycled water tocustomers south-east of Melbourne to irrigate agriculture
and open spaces since the 1970s. The planned $170
million upgrade of the plant should open up new
opportunities by improving the quality of recycled water
(from Class C to Class A) through tertiary filtration,
enhanced disinfection and reduced ammonia.
This year, Melbourne Water commissioned a study to
investigate water recycling opportunities for agricultural,
industrial, recreational and urban uses in the eastern region.
The first phase of the study, costing $100,000 and jointly
funded by Mornington Shire Council and Frankston City
Council, evaluated opportunities along the 56-kilometre
pipeline from the Eastern Treatment Plant to Boags Rocks,
where treated effluent is discharged to Bass Strait. The
study looked at current and future market demand, land
capability, water quality and the costs of using recycled
water to irrigate council recreational reserves, golf
courses, orchards, vineyards and vegetable crops.
The second phase, jointly funded by South East Water,
incorporated the results of phase one into a broader
investigation of opportunities including potential urban
demand in greenfield developments and existing
residential areas. A draft report on the comprehensive
study, including assessment of anticipated volumes and a
ranking of potential schemes, was delivered in June 2003.
Eastern Irrigation Scheme
A 1999 Melbourne Water study identified a potential
demand of 8000 million litres of recycled water in acorridor from Carrum to Cranbourne and Koo Wee Rup.
That study initiated the development of the Eastern
Irrigation Scheme to deliver recycled water from the
Eastern Treatment Plant for horticultural, agricultural,
urban and recreational irrigation. The aim of the scheme
is to deliver 5000 million litres of Class A recycled water
to the Fiveways district.
In January 2003, a pipeline between the Eastern
Treatment Plant and the Sandhurst Club development in
Carrum was completed, enabling the irrigation of a new
golf course with Class C recycled water for much of
summer. When fully developed, Sandhurst will comprise
1850 homes and two golf courses, and use 600 million
litres of recycled water a year.
Onsite recycling
Melbourne Water continued to pilot and demonstrate
recycling through onsite water recycling (also known as
water or sewer mining). A portable water recycling plant
used to irrigate Kings Domain gardens during a trial
last year was upgraded and installed at Albert Park.
During May and June 2003, the plant extracted and
treated sewage from the Albert Road main sewer to
supply recycled water for park irrigation and for use in
Albert Park Lake. The trial demonstrated the potential
HOW EXISTIN G EASTERN TREATM ENT PLANT CUSTOM ERS USE RECYCLED WATER
Type of scheme Produc t t ype Volume used 2002 / 03 Percent age
(million litres)
Horticultural Nursery/ turf farm/ flowers/ vineyard/ orchard 500 29.8
Agricultural Hydroponics/ market garden 426.6 25.5
Silviculture Foliage 20 1.2
Dust control Biosolids dust control 58.6 3.5
Municipal Golf courses/ recreational reserves 666 39.8
Aquacultural/ ornamental Wetlands 3.8 0.2Total 1675 100
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/03 15
for membrane technology to remove nitrogen and
phosphorus from effluent before it was discharged
into the lake.
Aquifer storage and recovery
In a study concluded in November 2002, Melbourne Water
assessed the feasibility of using depleted or degraded
aquifers to store recycled water from the Eastern and
Western Treatment Plants.
Excessive withdrawal from underground supplies has
depleted aquifers in some areas of Victoria and, in some
cases, allowed salt to degrade the reserves. Recharging
the wells with recycled water may provide a suitable
alternative to on-farm storage, reducing evaporation
and improving water quality.
The study identified an aquifer near Werribee as a
viable site for a storage and recovery trial.
Smart Water Fund
The Victorian Government launched the Smart Water
Fund in November 2002 to promote water recycling,
water conservation and biosolids use. We will contribute
$1 million over the next two years for innovative
water schemes.
A selection of 27 projects won the first round of funding
in May 2003. They range from onsite recycling in
commercial buildings, racecourses and parklands,
to enabling nurseries to recycle water using
peat-based biofilters.
Investigating water recyclingPeta MaddyWater Recycling(Project Manager, Western Projects)
The current extended dry period has reallyfocused everyones attention on maximising
water recycling opportunities.We now have four major projects usingrecycled water from the Western TreatmentPlant that are proceeding well.
These include the Balliang Project, which isdesigned to create a new irrigation area in atraditionally low rainfall area west of Melbourne.
We are working to enable Werribee Southmarket gardeners to access recycled water forirrigation. This will allow natural environmentalflows to return to the Werribee River.
The Wyndham water-sensitive residentialproject should see new urban development onthe outskirts of Werribee using recycled waterfor gardens and open space, and potentially,toilet flushing.
The Werribee Tourist Precinct should seerecycled water for golf courses and theNational Equestrian Centre.
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PROTECTING TH E ENVIRONM ENTProtecting our Waterways and Bays
Goals:
Operate in a manner to improve the environment
Improve the health and amenity of Port Phillip and Western Port baysfor the prosperity and enjoyment of present and future populations
Ensure that Melbournes natural waterways are healthy withincreased numbers of nat ive fish, plat ypus and plant l ife
Ensure the community is well educated and informed on water issues
Achievements
Key Challenges
Disappointments
> Achieving our greenhouse reduction and renewable energy targets by 2005/ 06.
> Finding cost effective ways to remediate biosolids at the Western Treatment Plant to enablethem to be recycled.
> Achieving our goal of eliminating offensive odours from any Melbourne Water asset by 2007.
> Meeting our target that all natural waterways in greater Melbourne will be in good conditionby 2025.
> Reducing nitrogen entering Port Phillip Bay from the stormwater system by 100 tonnes by 2010.
The planned major upgrade of the Eastern Treatment Plant was delayed by a legal challengeto the EPA Victoria works approval.
Delays to the Eastern Green Energy Project, which was designed to provide about half the powerneeded to run the Eastern Treatment Plant, meant Melbourne Water produced 2000 tonnes ofcarbon dioxide equivalent above target for the plant.
Failed one odour limit from our odour control facility at the Eastern Treatment Plant. Received 22 odour complaints from our sewage treatment plants and transfer system. While this
was about one-third less than last year, our goal is zero complaints.
Failed to maintain environmental flows in the Yarra in April 2003 by allowing pumping from theriver to continue for several hours after the flow dropped below the required level.
Invested $14.4 million on new treatment facilities at the Western Treatment Plants lagoons
to reduce nitrogen flowing to Port Phillip Bay by 500 tonnes a year.
Completed four wetlands that will reduce nutrients entering waterways and Port Phillip Bay bya further 14 tonnes a year.
Sourced substantial markets for biosolids generated at the Eastern Treatment Plant as a majorstep towards achieving our target to recycle all of the biosolids we produce.
Opened the $2.5 million Water Discovery Centre at the Western Treatment Plant in Werribeeto showcase water issues and increase community knowledge of water resources.
About 850,000 trees, shrubs and grasses were planted to improve the long-term health ofwaterways.
The Melbourne Water website, www.melbournewater.com.au, was further improved and receivedmore than 360,000 visits during the year.
Bought the first seven of a planned 25 hybrid electric and petrol-powered vehicles as part ofour commitment to environmentally sound operations.
Completed the CSIRO sediment study to increase our understanding of factors that affect theenvironmental health of Western Port as part of a $686,000 waterways environment researchprogram.
Submitted Victorias first two Streamflow Management Plans to the Minister for Water that willbalance the needs of users while protecting the waterways environmental flows.
Minimised the effects of the unprecedented drought conditions on the environmental healthof the Yarra River.
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/ 03
Lionel ShawBunnings Northland Em ployee
Lionel shows off the water storageposters that Melbourne Waterdeveloped with Bunnings and Nylex.The posters feature in each Bunningsstore throughout greater Melbourneand are updated weekly with the latestwater storage level. This program alsosupports our partnership with Bunningsto promote smart paint disposal in theinterests of protecting stormwater quality.
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PR O TEC TIN G TH E EN VIR O N M EN T
Our sewerage system
Our sewerage system includes Melbournes two main
sewage treatment plants and 400 kilometres of major
sewers. We also operate three major and several minor
sewage pump stations.
Retail water companies collect sewage and trade waste
from households and businesses and send it to Melbourne
Water for treatment. The retail water companies manage
the concentration and quantities of pollutants in industrial
sewage through Trade Waste Agreements with industry.
This year we treated 302,897 million litres of sewage and
trade waste collected by the retail water companies.
The Western Treatment PlantThe Western Treatment Plant at Werribee is the largest
sewage treatment facility in Australia, covering 10,850hectares (about the size of Phillip Island). It was designed
and built more than 100 years ago to treat Melbournes
sewage. The plant treats more than 500 million litres of
sewage a day from about half of Melbournes population
and a large proportion of the citys industry. Treated
effluent is discharged into Port Phillip Bay.
The Western Treatment Plant holds an accredited licence
from EPA Victoria to discharge to the environment. The
accredited licence reflects trust in Melbourne Water to
display high levels of responsibility in its operations of the
plant. It was granted because the plant has an Environmental
Management System, an audit program, an Environment
Improvement Plan and a history of clean operation.
Reducing nitrogen flows to Port Phill ip Bay
The $124 million upgrade of the Western Treatment Plant,
due to be completed in 2005, will reduce nitrogen flowing
to Port Phillip Bay by 500 tonnes a year. This reduction is
being achieved by installing new treatment facilities at lagoons.
The upgrade will improve effluent quality, significantly
increase opportunities for water recycling, reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and improve air quality. It also includes a
conservation management plan.
The first half of the upgrade, the enhancement of the 55
East lagoon, was commissioned at the end of 2001. The 25
West lagoon, due to be upgraded by December 2004, willdeliver the second half of the plants nitrogen reduction.
This year, we completed detailed design work for the
upgrade of this lagoon and began works to install an
activated sludge plant to improve nitrogen removal and
expand biogas capture and handling. Biogas, a byproduct
of the sewage treatment process (mainly methane), is
used to help power the plant (see Reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, page 20).
The environmental upgrade is a key feature of the
Western Treatment Plants Environment Improvement Plan.
We worked with the Community Liaison Committee to
revise this plan, which will guide further environmentalimprovements over the next three years. It covers
renewable energy generation, water recycling, biosolids
use, agricultural practice, conservation management, and
environmental objectives and actions.
Protecting biodiversityThe Western Treatment Plant has been listed as a wetland
of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,
and is an area of ecological significance because of its
size, location on Port Phillip Bay, and the presence of
several threatened species.
The environmental upgrade is subject to monitoring and
research to assess its impact on the plants conservation
values. Melbourne Waters conservation management
program involves wildlife monitoring, studies and
investigations, and habitat maintenance activities.
The Arthur Rylah Institute, on behalf of Melbourne Water,
is monitoring migratory birds, waterfowl, wading birds, and
cormorants at the plant. This extensive program, which
builds on similar work undertaken from 2000 to 2002,
began in February 2003 and will continue for three years.
During Summer, the Victorian Wader Study Group trapped
and tagged migratory shorebirds at several sites within
the plant as part of a worldwide effort to monitor migration,
survival and reproduction rates of these species.
Fauna and flora studies completed this year confirmed
that the Western Treatment Plant supports a range of
environmentally significant species requiring careful
management. Detailed studies were conducted on the
rare Growling Grass Frog, Fat-tailed Dunnart, Swamp
Harrier and Spiny Rice Flower.Our extensive weed and vermin control programs included
an ecological burn of 100 hectares of the Lake Borrie Spit
grassland in May 2003. It was the first time that Melbourne
Water has used fire for weed control and regeneration of
native grassland species. The burn, conducted with the
Country Fire Authority, was intended to especially benefit
a population of the nationally significant Spiny Rice Flower.
EPA Vict oria licence c ompliance
Melbourne Water complied fully with our obligations for
effluent discharge parameters under EPA Victoria's
licence. Detailed tables appear in our Water Resources
and the Environment Report 200 2/ 03.
The East ern Treatment PlantEvery day the Eastern Treatment Plant at Bangholme
processes 370 million litres of sewage from Melbournes
eastern and south-eastern suburbs. This is about 42 per
cent of Melbournes sewage.
The 1000-hectare plant, which opened in 1975, uses an
activated sludge process to treat sewage. A small amount
of treated effluent is recycled and most is discharged
under EPA Victoria licence via a 56-kilometre pipeline into
Bass Strait at Boags Rocks. Three smaller treatment
plants operated by South East Water also discharge
treated effluent into the pipeline.
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the quality of effluent leaving the plant through tertiary
filtration, enhanced disinfection and ammonia reduction.
Flows into and out of the plant would also be reduced
through water conservation and recycling programs.
The upgrade was based on a sustainable water resource
maintenance plan that had the support of the community.
An extension to the outfall was not recommended.
As part of the works approval process, EPA Victoria
appointed an independent panel to review our proposal.
The panel approved the works plan and recommended
the shoreline outfall at Boags Rocks be extended by two
kilometres into Bass Strait. EPA Victoria approved the
works plan in J uly 2002, and the Clean Ocean Foundation
appealed against the decision. The Victorian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal dismissed this appeal in March
2003, but the Clean Ocean Foundation has sought leaveto appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Works are
on hold pending a court ruling.
Studying the quantity and quality of flows to t he plant
When EPA Victoria approved Melbourne Waters proposed
major upgrade to the Eastern Treatment Plant, it requested
that we undertake:
A study of the potential to achieve a 12 per cent
reduction in sewage inflows into the plant by 2012
An audit of the trade waste component of the inflow.
In April 2003, we engaged consultants to undertake these
studies. The inflow reduction study will examine water
recycling opportunities and potential measures to reducewater demand. The audit will identify strategies to reduce
trade waste pollutants and flows, and ensure that trade
waste does not compromise water and biosolids recycling.
Reducing ammonia in treated effluent
An important element of the upgrade is a $47 million
project to reduce ammonia levels in treated effluent by
more than 75 per cent. The project began in August 2002
after a successful $5 million six-month pilot in one of the
plants six aeration tanks. Ammonia reduction is achieved
by the incorporation of a treatment process, called
nitrification-denitrification, into the existing system.
Monit oring the marine environmentMelbourne Water continues to monitor closely the treated
effluent discharged from the Eastern Treatment Plant and
its impacts on the marine environment.
In April 2003, the second phase began of a wide-ranging
study of the marine environment, managed by the CSIRO.
The study is examining effluent toxicity, its dilution and
dispersion into the environment at Boags Rocks, and its
effects on marine flora and fauna.
The survey will provide a baseline against which future
monitoring results may be compared. The interpretation
and assessment of this studys results will be presented
in August 2003.
Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/ 03 19
A sanctuary for wildlifeWill SteeleWildlife and Wetla nds Scientist
While the plant operated well under its discharge licence
from EPA Victoria, a two-year environmental study
completed in 1999 by the CSIRO showed that the
effluent, which contains freshwater and ammonia, was
affecting the marine environment.
Environmental upgrade
As a result of the environmental study, EPA Victoria
required us to upgrade the plant and reduce these impacts.
Melbourne Water proposed a $170 million upgrade to theEastern Treatment Plant, which would significantly improve
Melbourne Waters weed and vermin controlprogram at the Western Treatment Plant ishelping to make the area an even bettersanctuary for native wildlife.
It is an enormous job to transform a completelyman-made site of this size into a wildlife-friendly zone. But the desire is there to protectremnant vegetation, to keep out vermin and
ever-devouring noxious weeds, to provide a havenfor about one-third of Australias bird species.
It is the broad range of birdlife that the hugearea of permanent water attracts that makesthe Werribee plant a unique sanctuary. Thecoastal, wetland, and wading birds all makea home there. With the introduction ofstrategically planted trees, raptors are alsoable to use the area as a hunting ground.
And it is not just the birds that benefit.Because there is relatively little humandisturbance, other wildlife such as the nationally
endangered Growling Grass Frog has a homethere as well.
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PR O TEC TIN G TH E EN VIR O N M EN T
Assuring safety and quality of effluent and biosolids
Melbourne Water used the drinking water quality system
principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
system and the ISO 9001 standard as the basis of a draft
quality plan for the Eastern Treatment Plant.
The plan covers the risks to safety and aesthetic quality
associated with recycled water and biosolids provided
from the plant.
The plan, a requirement of the works approval for the
upgrade of the treatment plant, will be submitted to EPA
Victoria when it is completed. We intend to pursue
certification of the treatment process to an international
quality standard.
Planning to improve the environment
A condition of the EPA Victoria licence for the Eastern
Treatment Plant is that it has an Environment Improvement
Plan. The plan details how Melbourne Water will achieve
the required environmental standards, and describes how
we will improve on that performance.
This year, we worked with the Community Liaison Committee
to revise the existing plan published in September 1999.
The updated plan will incorporate all key environmental
initiatives at the plant included in the proposed major
upgrade. We aim to finalise the plan in 2004.
EPA Vict oria licence compliance
Melbourne Water complied with all but one obligation
under EPA Victorias discharge licence for the Eastern
Treatment Plant an air emission licence parameter whenan odour control facility exceeded its stack odour limits.
Detailed tables appear in our Water Resources and the
Environment Report 2002 / 03.
Eliminating sewage spills
Melbourne Water must manage our sewerage system so
that we experience no spills under normal rainfall conditions.
Under very heavy rain, which would occur once in every
five years, some stormwater can infiltrate sewers leading
to overflows when capacity is exceeded. Such overflows
are directed through emergency relief structures to
prevent impacts on private property and public health.
We have a rigorous program to contain these spills even
in a one-in-five-year rainfall event. This standard is among
the highest in the world and we are upgrading our
infrastructure to eliminate sewage spills due to overflows.
No sewage spills to the environment occurred this year.
This was contributed by low sewage flows due to the drought.
Sustainable management of biosolidsBiosolids are the treated and stabilised solids in sewage.
In the past, Melbourne Water has stored biosolids at oursewage treatment plants. Despite the vast amount of
space at these plants, storing biosolids is not a sustainable
approach and we accept our responsibility to put by-products
from our operations to beneficial use. Our target is to
recycle all the biosolids we produce by 2010.
The quantity of stored biosolids at the Western Treatment
Plant is significantly greater than at the Eastern Treatment
Plant because of the age of the plants. The Western
Treatment Plant was opened in 1897 and the Eastern
Treatment Plant in 1975.
The biosolids stored at our Eastern Treatment Plant are
of a higher quality, due largely to Trade Waste Agreements
that have improved the quality of industrial waste flowing
to our treatment plants in recent years.
EPA Victoria requires biosolids to be stored for three years
before allowing recycling.
Establishing market s for biosolids
This year Melbourne Water recycled 28,342 tonnes of
biosolids (equivalent to one years production plus some
stored biosolids), all from the Eastern Treatment Plant.
These biosolids were used in blended soils and to fill
a disused clay pit at the Woodlands Industrial Estate in
Braeside. A one-metre thick clay liner and cap will seal
in the biosolids and mitigate seepage, in accordance with
an EPA Victoria works approval and licence.
In February 2003, we called for expressions of interest
from companies with potential uses for biosolids from the
Eastern Treatment Plant. At 30 June 2003, Melbourne Water
had agreements with three companies to use biosolids in
the blended soil market.
Developing new opportunities
There is potential to use a range of technologies to exploit
the energy value of biosolids, which has been compared
with brown coal. Thermal processes have been developed
that extract energy and generate power from sludges.
Energy recovery is becoming more feasible with the
introduction of the Federal Governments Renewable EnergyCertificates program, in which organisations that produce
renewable energy receive certificates for each megawatt-
hour they produce, enabling them to sell surplus certificates.
Melbourne Water is registered in this program as a
generator of renewable energy through our hydro-electricity
and biogas plants.
Reducing greenhouse emissionsAs community expectations and regulatory requirements
become increasingly rigorous, so too are our requirements
to minimise our impact on the environment. These higher
environmental standards (together with population growth)
require increased energy usage, generally for pumping
water and sewage, and operating the most modern and
effective sewage treatment processes.
2002/03
2001/02
2000/01
1999/00
1998/99
1997/98
1996/97
Number of spills
36
31
3
0
0
8
6
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/ 03 21
Electricity consumption and methane emissions from
sewage treatment are the largest contributors to Melbourne
Waters greenhouse gas emissions.
We have established targets to reduce our emissions and
their impact on climate. By 2005/ 06, we aim to reduce
our greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent compared
with 2000/ 01 levels, and we will cut our use of electricity
from the grid by 10 per cent over the same period. We
will achieve this by using renewable energy created in our
own treatment processes, conserving energy and reducing
direct emissions. This will also minimise our impact on
the environment and reduce costs.
Greenhouse gas em issions
Capturing biogas at the Western Treatment Plant
The major upgrade of the Western Treatment Plant
includes significant energy initiatives.
Treatment lagoons are being covered to capture biogas
a by-product of our sewage treatment process to help
power the plant.
In October 2002, Melbourne Water completed an upgrade
of the gas extraction system at the treatment plant. This
year, the power generation plant operated by AGL Ltd
used captured biogas to generate 18.1 gigawatt hours of
electricity that would otherwise have been imported from
the grid, saving about 26,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent. These figures will increase to 24 gigawatt hours
and 32,200 tonnes when the plant runs at full capacity.
One gigawatt hour is enough energy to run an average
Melbourne household for 100 years.Eastern Green Energy Project
Melbourne Waters major upgrade of the power station
and outfall pumping station at the Eastern Treatment
Plant, originally planned for completion by September
2003, has been delayed by an industrial dispute.
The delayed works meant Melbourne Water produced
2000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent above target
this year therefore increasing our 2003/ 04 emissions
above target levels.
Generating green energy from our water supply system
As part of our renewable energy program, Melbourne Water
continued to plan for the construction of 14 hydro-electric
power plants in our water supply system. When completed,
these plants will generate 66 gigawatt hours of renewable
energy a year. This year we finalised plans and next year
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
Actual Forecast
559,986
476,098
461,524
475,569
343,656
305,620
305,021
we will establish contracts with the successful tenderers
to build and operate the plants.
Environmentally friendly fleetMelbourne Water has a commitment to environmentally
friendly fleet vehicles and, in June 2003, we bought the
first seven of a planned 25 hybrid electric and petrol-
powered vehicles to replace existing fleet cars. The rest
will be incorporated into the fleet by the end of 2004.
The Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles use about 50 per cent
less fuel compared with similar-sized vehicles and
produce 46 per cent of the emissions. Each is expected
to achieve a saving of 4.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent a year.
Our no-odour objectiveMelbourne Water aims to minimise our impact on thecommunity. We have an objective that there will be no
offensive odour from Melbourne Waters assets by 2007.
Community expectations of acceptable odour levels from
sewage treatment have risen in recent years. Melbourne
Water received 22 complaints from the public about odour
emanating from our treatment plants and transfer system.
This is half the number received in 2000/01. Each odour
complaint is investigated to reduce the source of odours.
Our EPA Victoria licence does not permit offensive odours
beyond the boundary of the Eastern Treatment Plant. By
2005/ 06, the licence for the Western Treatment will also
disallow odour beyond the boundaries.Achieving our objective
This year Melbourne Water completed a strategy to
achieve our no-odour objective. The odour management
strategy details several odour mitigation projects.
We are also working to reduce odour from our sewerage
system and at the same time manage the impact of
odorous gases from sewers. Appropriate odour
management can be achieved through, for example,
installing a treatment facility, chemically dosing sewage,
or blocking offending vents. Melbourne Water operates
four odour control facilities throughout the sewerage system.
Protecting our waterways and baysThe people of Melbourne place a high value on our
waterways and bays, which provide habitat for native
species and recreational amenities for people. Port Phillip
and Western Port bays are essential environmental,
economic and recreational assets for Victorians.
Community expectations of our waterways and bays have
increased considerably, especially in recent decades.
Considerably more stringent environmental standards
and regulations now reflect the value we place on these
natural assets.
Measuring the environmental health of our wat erways
The health of many waterways has been damaged by landclearing, loss of native vegetation, urbanisation, water
harvesting, infestation by weeds and introduced species,
and polluted by run-off.
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PR O TEC TIN G TH E EN VIR O N M EN T
0 10 20
kilometres
WESTERN PORT
BASS STRAIT
PORT PHILLIP BAY
Not rated
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Poor
Very poor
Urban
Rural
Forest
Only 28 per cent of the streams we manage are in
excellent or good condition, with 25 per cent in moderate
condition, and 47 per cent in poor or very poor condition.
Waterways are rated against the Index of Stream Condition
a measure developed by a scientific panel for the
Department of Sustainability and Environment. Ratings
are calculated by bringing together information on flow
regime, water quality, and condition of the channel,
streamside areas and aquatic life within the stream.
Most of the waterways in excellent or good condition are
in our water supply catchments or forested areas. Densely
populated urban catchments are mostly in poor or very
poor condition.
Planning healthy catchment s
Environmental scientists and planners from Melbourne
Water are working with the Port Phillip and WesternportCatchment Management Authority to manage waterways
through a regional approach. Our work is aligned with the
Victorian Governments River Health Strategyfor managing
Victorias rivers and catchments over the next 20 years.
This strategy was released in August 2002.
Improving w aterway habitat
Melbourne Water invested $23.3 million this year to improve
the long-term health of our waterways. We planted about
850,000 trees, shrubs and grasses along streamsides,
stabilised banks, removed invasive non-indigenous trees,
removed instream barriers for fish, and investigated and
planned new works. Community and volunteer groups
made an important contribution to revegetation.
Condition rat ings for waterways in the greaterMelbourne area % of Total Waterway Length
Condition of M elbournes waterways 200 2 20 03
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Poor
Very Poor
12
35
25
12
16
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Melbourne Water ANNUAL REPORT 2002/ 03 23
Working with the community to revitalise our waterways
Through the stream frontage management program,
Melbourne Water is enabling landholders to revitalise their
waterways damaged by erosion and loss of natural
vegetation. We fund weed removal, planting of indigenous
species along banks, and fence out livestock. Property
owners, Landcare and volunteer groups undertake the work.
This year, some 348 properties benefited from the
$900,000 program. A total of 122,680 trees, shrubs,
grasses and sedges were planted, and more than 78
kilometres of fencing erected.
Since the programs inception in 1996/ 97, more than
$3.3 million has been provided to 1230 landholders to
improve and protect almost 370 kilometres of waterways.
In addition, 12 councils received funding for 27 waterway
sites in the fourth round of Melbourne Water Corridorsof Green funding. The program provided $193,500 for
streamside revegetation works along 22 waterways, with
almost 64,000 plants established.
Melbourne Water is committed to supporting and working
with community members who give up their time to
protect and enhance the environment, especially through
revegetation and weed control along waterways. This year,
we provided a range of community, Landcare, Friends of
and other volunteer groups with almost $100,000 to
support 42 waterway improvement projects.
We contribute about $100,000 a year to Melbourne
Waterwatch, an environmental education program thathelps schools, community and environment groups
monitor their local waterways for stream life, habitat and
water quality. Melbourne Water is the regional co-ordinator
of the program in the Port Phillip and Western Port region
and this year more than 9300 people in 295 groups
monitored 566 sites.
Research into w aterway health and aquatic life
We invested $640,000 in research into waterway health
and aquatic life this year including a comprehensive
study of aquatic invertebrates in the Moonee Ponds
and Yuroke creeks.
In June 2003, the Water Studies Centre at Monash
University completed a three-year research program
for Melbourne Water into the effects of urbanisation
on stream ecology. It found that the efficiency of urban
drainage systems is the most important factor in the
degradation of aquatic life in urban streams. Slowing the
flow of stormwater, for example, using grasses or reeds,
improves water quality.
We also commissioned the Keith Turnbull Research
Institute, a partner in the Co-operative Research Centre
for Australian Weed Management, to assess risks of
new and emerging weeds in our waterways, recommend
herbicides suitable for riparian environments, and develop
methods to selectively kill weeds.
In early 2003, Melbourne Water and the Centre for
Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research investigated
the movement of the introduced mosquito fish in urban
streams and artificial wetlands. The research will help
Melbourne Water prevent mosquito fish from entering into
new wetlands.
Bringing fish back t o our waterways
Barriers to fish passage in waterways can be created
by structures such as dams, weirs and road crossings.
These structures hamper access to habitat and limitmigration of some species, especially native fish, which
affects breeding cycles. We provide a continuous passage
for fish and other aquatic animals in major waterways by
building fishways or fish ladders.
This year we built a fishway on Cardinia Creek to enable
native fish to pass a structure built to stabilise the banks.
Surveys carried out in Bunyip River in the Westernport
catchment following the construction of a fishway found
that there has been a significant increase upstream in the
range and numbers of nat