Toronto Wastewater Treatment Works Upgrade

We’re investing over $10 million to upgrade the Toronto Wastewater Treatment Works to safely and reliably meet local population growth, reduce odour and protect the environment.

About the treatment works

Built in 1992, the Toronto Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) serves the area from Teralba to Wangi Wangi on the western side of Lake Macquarie, including the townships of Marmong Point, Bolton Point, Toronto and Rathmines.

It currently treats 6 megalitres per day and can handle wastewater from a population of up to 42,000 people.

Why the work is needed

We want to ensure that the treatment works can continue to reliably service the local community into the future. The upgrade will increase its capacity and performance, reduce odour issues and meet modern safety and environmental standards.

The upgrade will also enable us to recycle effluent for use onsite, reducing our reliance on drinking water to service the treatment work's process unit requirements.

Project update

We are making progress on our upgrade of Toronto Wastewater Treatment Works:

• The high voltage works: we successfully upgraded the high voltage electrical equipment in 2022
• The odour control facility: The new, state-of-the-art technology to improve the capture and treatment of wastewater related odorous air has been installed and we have transitioned to using the new odour control facility.
• The aeration system: We are working on upgrading our aeration tanks so we can treat the wastewater to a consistent standard within the plant. We expect this to be finished by mid-2024.

Ongoing odour issues

While we are working on upgrading the treatment plant, odour may be experienced from time to time.

We expect that this project will be finished by mid-2024 and once complete, future odour events should be minimised. However, the nature of a wastewater treatment plant means that you may still experience odours from time to time, even once we finish the project.

If you do experience odours, please let us know of the approximate date and time it happened. This helps us in figuring out the cause, so we can address it.

To report an odour event, call 1300 657 657 or email enquiries@hunterwater.com.au

Construction impacts

The work will be carried out within and around the existing treatment works site on Faucett Street, Blackalls Park. The construction will have minimal impact on the local community and neighbours will be advised before any work begins.

The plant will be operational throughout construction to ensure the wastewater service is maintained.