Altona Recycled Water Plant tours reveal unique histories
4 August 2026
Members of the first family to live onsite at Altona Recycled Water Plant (RWP) in the late 1960s were among the enthusiastic visitors who toured the plant as part of Open House Melbourne in late July.
Greater Western Water’s Altona RWP and its world-renowned land art, A Forest for Australia, opened to the public last weekend as part of the Open House program.
About 140 people took part in eight one-hour tours, which offered visitors a chance to peek behind the scenes at parts of the plant rarely seen by the public.
Sisters Janine and Gail Franzi were among the Saturday attendees and brought along old family slides offering an even rarer glimpse of the plant – from a time when they both lived on it.
“Our father (Stanley) was here to help establish and run the plant after it was opened,” Gail said.
“We spent most of our childhood here, we used to bring our bikes and ride them up and down the paddocks (around the plant),” Janine said.
It’s the first time the pair had been back since they lived in a house built on the outskirts of the site which accommodated the plant’s first operators and families.
While employees no longer live onsite to support the plant’s operations, and current safety practices would prevent the type of free roaming that Janine, Gail and their siblings experienced when they were young, there was a lot they got out of the visit.
“We were surprised about how much has changed, how much the technology has improved. A Forest For Australia artwork was not there before,” they said.
GWW’s General Manager of Service Delivery, Jodie Hallam, said the Franzi sisters’ fascinating story about their time at the plant was among many interesting stories to come out of the Open House Melbourne weekend.
“Visitors enjoyed seeing each wastewater treatment stage, as well as expert-led talks on how wastewater treatment had evolved over time,” she said.
“A trip to the 'Museum of flushed curiosities' was also a chance to remind people about what should, and should definitely not, be flushed – with things like a collector’s Gumby toy, mobile phones and even dentures being found at the plant.
“The positive feedback from visitors as part of Greater Western Water’s third Open House Melbourne has been invaluable. We’re thrilled to help educate more people about the important role recycled water has to play as an alternative source of water for irrigating local parks and green spaces, while helping to save precious drinking water.”
