Understanding the ecological impacts of untreated sewage inputs in waterways

Background

This project will improve our understanding of impacts to waterway health from treated and untreated wastewater and facilitate a more structured and strategic process for prioritising the investigation and management of different types of wastewater inputs e.g. wastewater treatment plant discharges, Emergency Relief Structure spills, septic tanks. The project will also consider potential impacts from a range of anticipated discharge scenarios (e.g., spill type, quality, volume, frequency and duration) to enhance planning capabilities and enable adaptive management strategies.

Approach

Year 1 of this project will focus on synthesising knowledge from existing literature on the risks and impacts from contaminants in treated and untreated wastewater discharges on key environmental values, including identifying priorities for future research. Based on the review, sites will be selected across the Greater Melbourne Area for field-based investigations of ecological indicators of treated and untreated wastewater. This research will complement previous research by A3P that identified chemical indicators of treated and untreated wastewater in waterways. 

Year 2 and beyond will be informed by the outcomes of Year 1 and will focus on applying chemical and biological indicators of wastewater inputs to support the prioritisation of wastewater management programs across the region.