The first stage of a $53 million upgrade to Sunbury Recycled Water Plant has been completed.
The project is part of a major expansion of Sunbury and Diggers Rest water infrastructure.
Filtration, odour control systems and the site’s power supply are some of the elements addressed in stage one.
Sunbury MP Josh Bull visited the site to see the plant’s progress earlier this month.
“It’s great to see that the upgrade is progressing well,” Mr Bull said.
When works have been completed, the plant – at the southern end of Harker Street, Sunbury – will be able to treat 9.2 million litres a day, up from the 5.9 million it could treat previously.
As Sunbury and Diggers Rest are some of the highest-growth areas in Victoria, Sunbury Recycled Water Plant was nearing its capacity at the start of 2016 when the state government announced the project.
Despite the significant increase in treatment capacity, the state government says the upgrades will be contained within the area of the existing treatment plant.
Additional improvements to the treatment process will mean the upgraded plant will produce higher quality recycled water with more uses, such as watering resident gardens.
Recycled water produced at the Western Water plant is presently used for irrigating crops and maintaining sports grounds.
A total of more than 50 jobs are expected to have been created during construction, which is expected to be finished by late next year.
Stage two of the project will involve refurbishing parts of the old plant.
