Construction is underway on a new 250 megalitre storage lagoon at Goulburn Valley Water’s Mansfield Wastewater Management Facility, designed to boost capacity to support the region’s growing population.
The project will almost double the facility’s fully treated wastewater winter storage volume and will complement the existing 225ML storage on the site’s western corner.
Current storages are nearing capacity, driven by significant growth in Mansfield which has resulted in increased volumes of wastewater being treated and stored at the wastewater management facility.
Goulburn Valley Water Managing Director Steve Capewell said the new lagoon would help meet the future needs of one of GVW’s major growth corridor regions.
“Mansfield is one of our fastest growing communities and we’re seeing increasing demand on our water and wastewater services, much earlier than forecast planning had indicated,” Dr Capewell said.
“This upgrade is part of our plans to grow and improve our infrastructure in Mansfield to ensure we can continue to deliver reliable services while also planning for and managing current and future growth.”
The project is expected to be completed in spring. During construction, residents may notice an increase in traffic and heavy vehicles accessing the site from the Maroondah Highway and traffic management may be in place at times.
Increasing recycled water storage in Mansfield is one of the priority actions in GVW’s 2022 Urban Water Strategy, a 50-year plan designed to help sustainably manage the region’s water resources.
The additional storage will boost the availability of recycled water to be used for irrigation as part of GVW’s onsite farming operations as well as for irrigation supply to the Mansfield Golf Club and nearby farming operations.
It will also complement the recently constructed purple recycled water standpipe, which is designed to increase the use of alternate water sources and reduce dependency on drinking water supplies.
The new lagoon will reduce the need for wet weather-related emergency recycled water releases into nearby waterways, which have occurred in past years.
To follow the project’s progress, go to gvwater.vic.gov.au/projects/current-projects
