Romsey recycled water plant upgrade

Project Overview

The Romsey RWP upgrade will increase the plant’s treatment capacity and provide more storage to better manage recycled water levels across the year, helping us meet the needs of the growing Lancefield and Romsey communities.

Construction is expected to begin in 2027.

Works in planning

The RWP upgrade includes:

1. Three new treatment lagoons that will provide an additional 292ML of storage volume (more than 116 Olympic-sized swimming pools)
2. A new solid waste screening system and odour filter with built-in redundancy, reducing the risk of spills and unpleasant smells
3. Upgrading the existing lagoons to provide additional storage for recycled water
4. New infrastructure that will allow more recycled water to be safely supplied to irrigation sites near the plant
5. The construction of a biosolids drying facility to help when biosolid build-up needs to be pumped out of the lagoons
6. Future-proofing the incoming power supply, replacing electrical switchboards and constructing a new emergency generator to improve plant reliability

Changes that will be made to the RWP include new lagoons, repurposed water storages, inlet works and pumping station. Sewerage treatment lagoons will also receive upgrades.

Why the project is needed

• The RWP needs more storage space to reduce the risk of lagoons overflowing during heavy rain.
• Romsey and Lancefield's population is growing, so we're increasing how much wastewater we can treat to meet the community's needs.
• We're increasing the RWP's ability to filter large objects like tissues and grit to prevent pump blockages.

Benefits for the region

• Increased ability for the plant to contain recycled water during high rainfall events, making emergency releases less likely.
• Modernisation of plant technology and equipment, improving reliability.
• Improved odour capture, extraction and treatment to maintain community comfort as sewage volume from the area increases.

Local impacts

Most works will take place within the existing Romsey RWP boundary. During construction, local residents may notice:

• occasional truck movements
• increased noise or dust near the site
• temporary odour during some of our works. This will be regularly monitored.

Environmental care, community and cultural heritage 

We’re committed to protecting the environment, cultural heritage and local communities throughout the Romsey RWP upgrades by:

• consulting local community, council, Traditional Owners, and environmental groups to ensure a broad understanding of stakeholder and community needs
• obtaining all necessary environmental approvals before construction begins
• meeting all Cultural Heritage requirements
• partnering with local community and stakeholders on positive environmental outcomes (like nesting boxes and native planting).