Poo Farm

Last week my team at work went on a PD day to the Poo Farm - aka Werribee Treatment Plant. Because we are on the site of the old sewage pumping station and present education shows about where waste water goes, we thought it would be a good place to visit. Which it was! It was surprisingly very interesting. I didn't understand all of the microbiology stuff, but enough of it to appreciate the process.

This is on open sewer. It smelt bad. And there were floaties. Floaties! There were signs warning you not to swim because the water is a drowning hazard. Anyone who would get close enough to it to find this out deserves to die a stinky stinky death. The bird had a great time eating the floaties.

Introducing lots of oxygen into the water (I use the word 'water' very loosely) to allow the aerobic bacteria to get in there and breed and help eat up the sludge (this is totally the official term for it). At this point the water is a nice, tasty brown colour.

By the time the water reaches the last pond it is a nice clear colour and is grade C recycled water. You could put this onto your garden if you were super keen. They treat the water more if it is being on-sold (say to a sporting oval) to class A.

The class C water is then pumped out into the bay. Lots of bird life around the poo farm, and it is apparently 'the' place to go if you are into bird watching. There were lots of swans, pelicans and ducks. Didn't really tickle my pickle, but each to their own I suppose!

For morning tea we had poo cakes. They were yummy and had peanut butter and chocolate in them.