Final Update
Two massive aerators will be permanently installed at the Shepparton Wastewater Management Facility as part of works to help prevent future odour issues at the site.
The two 55kW aerators were temporarily installed as part of GVW’s response to an event in July to September last year, where a number of factors, including unusually cold temperatures, caused an upset in the biological wastewater treatment process at Shepparton’s Wastewater Management Facility.
It’s one of several actions underway to ensure any similar conditions are identified proactively, before they trigger issues which cause odour impacts for Shepparton residents.
Following the odour issue, GVW commissioned an independent expert review, which highlighted several recommendations for both immediate action and longer-term planning.
As well as the aerators, GVW is building a digital dashboard with alerts issued when the treatment performance hits identified levels, and will continue increased wastewater quality monitoring and analysis in key treatment lagoons.
The review also identified that increasing the temperature in the primary treatment lagoon could also help improve treatment performance in colder months and reduce the need for additional chemical dosing in winter. Such a large-scale project will be considered as part of future development and facility master planning.
The Shepparton facility works via a large-scale lagoon process, beginning in a primary treatment lagoon, where microscopic ‘bugs’ break down wastewater in a zero-oxygen environment, before the wastewater moves to aerated lagoons for further breakdown.
A combination of factors – including cold weather, changes in wastewater concentration, and a decrease in alkalinity, a key performance measure - led to the primary lagoon underperforming. This placed additional pressure on the aerated lagoons, which caused the release of odour during the aerated treatment process.
GVW acknowledges the significant impact the odour issue had on many residents, particularly in northern Shepparton areas.
We’re sorry for this – we’re working to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
21st September
We’ve got great news from our Incident Management Team – the Shepparton Wastewater Management Facility has returned to normal winter operating levels, and odour is no longer being released from the aerated lagoons.
16th September
We’re continuing to see high levels of dissolved oxygen levels in our aerated lagoons, and in downstream lagoons.
14th September
Our performance reporting is showing continued improvement at the Shepparton Wastewater Management Facility.
