Kurri Kurri Wastewater Treatment Works
Kurri Kurri Wastewater Treatment Works serves the communities of Abermain, Weston, Kurri Kurri, Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, Heddon Greta and Cliftleigh.
It currently treats 3.9 megalitres per day and can handle wastewater from a population of up to 21,500 people.
Operation
The Kurri Kurri Wastewater Treatment Works has an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) treatment process. It is designed to remove nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and provides UV disinfection.
The sewage receives:
- screening of solids and removal of grit
- biological treatment
- clarification and sand filtration
- UV disinfection.
- digestions and dewatering of biosolids for reuse
Sludge wasted from clarifiers is thickened and digested before being dewatered through a centrifuge machine.
Recycling and reuse
Recycled water from the plant is used for:
- grit and screening washing
- general wash down at the Wastewater Treatment Works
- irrigating the grounds.
The Kurri Kurri TAFE College extracts up to 400 kilolitres of effluent per day from an on-site storage dam, which is used for irrigation on the TAFE grounds.
Unused effluent is discharged to Swamp Creek, and Kurri Kurri Golf Club extracts up to 370 kilolitres of this effluent per day immediately downstream of the discharge point for irrigation.
As effluent reuse is primarily for irrigation, demands can be much lower during winter due to increased rainfall.
All biosolids produced at the Kurri Kurri Wastewater Treatment Works are beneficially used for mine site rehabilitation and pasture improvement projects.
At Hunter Water, we recycle approximately 5,000 megalitres of effluent per year. Learn more about our recycling and re-use initiatives..
Recent upgrades
The Kurri Kurri Wastewater Treatment Works was upgraded in 2020 to provide additional future capacity to meet the needs of the growing community and to improve the quality of treated effluent.
Environmental Licence Monitoring
Pollution monitoring data is collected by Hunter Water, as required under the Environment Protection Licences (EPL) issued by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).