WASTEWATER

Hunter Water Corporation

is COMMITTED TO protecting
peoples health and
enhancing the environment

WHAT IS WASTEWATER?
Wastewater from individual houses, units
and businesses enters a network of
wastewater pipes that all ultimately travel
to a wastewater treatment facility, where it
can be processed.

Inlet Works
Wastewater received at the inlet works
is screened by a mechanical process to
remove all large (greater than 5mm),
non-biodegradable material, and all sand
(or grit).

At our 17 wastewater treatment works we

treat the wastewater before it is reused
or discharged to rivers or oceans in
accordance with strict licence conditions
issued by the Department of Environment,
Climate Change and Water.

Approximately 30 cubic metres of

screenings per week are removed at our
inlet works screens. Screenings do not
include faecal matter or toilet paper (they
are dealt with by the biological treatment
process) as the screenings mainly remove
things that are not supposed to be
discharged into the sewer system.

Wastewater is therefore treated to a

very high standard and clear effluent is
discharged to waterways or reused where
it is economically and environmentally
beneficial.
HOW DO WE TREAT WASTEWATER?
Our wastewater treatment processes
rely on both biological processes and
chemical processes to treat wastewater
to an acceptable quality for discharge into
local waterways or the ocean. Many of our
treatment plants supply treated, recycled
water to local industries, golf courses,
farms and woodlots.
Our treatment processes differ at each
site in small ways, but can be broadly split
into:
Inlet works
Biological Treatment
Chemical Treatment
Biosolids Handling
Effluent disinfection (for inland
WWTW)
Factsheet . ID . 002 . MaY09

At most treatment plants, the inlet works

is covered and odours are extracted and
treated through a biological filter.
Biological Treatment
Suspended solids, organic matter, grease/
oil, nitrogen and phosphorus are broken
down by bacteria that grow naturally in a
biological reactor.
The bacteria in the process consumes
the organic matter in the sewage. The
bacteria requires oxygen to survive and
the oxygen is supplied to the bacteria
by an aeration system in the reactor.
Aeration systems normally consist of
either large propeller style blades on the
reactor surface that violently stir air into
the contents, or a set of porous diffusers
on the floor of the reactor that are fed by
air blowers.

www.hunterwater.com.au

WASTEWATER
The second stage of this process is a
large settling tank (known as a clarifier)
that allows the bacteria to gather together
and settle to the floor, while the clear,
treated effluent passes over weirs on the
surface of the tank. The bacteria is then
recycled back to the aerated reactor.

Effluent disinfection
Inland treatment plans have effluent
disinfection facilities that kill bacteria
or viruses in the treated effluent after
biological treatment.
The disinfection precess used includes,
chlorination/dechlorination, UV light and
ponding.

Environmental safeguards for

wastewater
The Department of Environment, Climate
Change and Water issues licences
under the Protection of the Environment
Operations Act (1997) for Hunter Waters
wastewater pipe network and treatment
systems.
The licences stipulate both quality and
quantity conditions for discharge from
each wastewater treatment works and
are reviewed every three years under
the legislation. The licences also specify
operational controls and reporting for the
pipe network and pump stations.

Chemical Treatment
At some inland plants, chemicals are
added to help remove Phosphorus from
sewage.
Biosolids Handling
The bacteria and solids need to be
wasted each day from the biological
treatment process in order to maintain its
treatment capacity.
The waste bacteria and solids are
then stabilised by a process known as
digestion. This process, involving further
aeration, is necessary to minimise the
odour producing potential of the biosolids
when they are dewatered (which involves
removing much liquid as possible) and
used in land application projects.
From the digestion process, the biosolids
are dewatered, taking their water content
from around 98% to around 80%. By this
stage (at 80% water content), biosolids
look much like garden soil.

Factsheet . ID . 002 . MaY09

RECYCLING WASTEWATER
A key objective in Hunter Waters
Environmental Management Plan is the
productive use of recycled water and
biosolids where it is economically and
environmentally feasible.
Recycled water from our treatment plants
is used by agriculture and industry, and
we ensure that biosolids can be used
wherever possible.
Hunter Water endeavours to find beneficial
uses for biosolids most biosolids
from our plants are used for mine site
rehabilitation.

FAST FACTS
Around 9% of effluent from
our treatment plants is
recycled for irrigating golf
courses, farm land and for
industry.
We maintain an extensive
system to transport
wastewater , which includes
4,477km of sewer main
systems and 380 pumping
stations, as well as 17
wastewater treatment
works
www.hunterwater.com.au