Canberra’s sewage treatment plant receives accolade

Canberra’s main sewage treatment plant, Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre (LMWQCC), has received a significant accolade from Engineers Australia with the presentation of the Historic Engineering Marker interpretive panel.

Being the main wastewater treatment facility for Canberra and the largest inland wastewater treatment facility in Australia, LMWQCC worksto ensure the city is provided with reliable sewerage services every day, and is able to release treated quality water back into the environment.  

The plant treats 80 to 90 million litres of sewage every day, or around 290 billion litres a year, to a quality that is often better than the river that its released into.

The treatment plant removes an average of one million litres of sludge, and creates 16 tonnes of ash a day. LMWQCC was built to service the needs of Canberra’s population, and could be extended to serve up to a million people.

The Engineer’s Australia’s Engineering Heritage Recognition Program has placed an interpretive panel at the entry of LMWQCC to show the treatment plant’s national engineering significance.

Engineers Australia established the Australian Historic Engineering Plaquing Program in 1984 to provide recognition to engineering works of historic or heritage significance and to the hard working engineers who created them.

Ray Hezkial, General Manager Project Delivery, Operations and Maintenance, said, “Icon Water is excited to be receiving such important recognition from Engineers Australia.”

“The Engineering Heritage Marker is the ultimate accolade of engineering heritage significance.

“The Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre is unique in Australia for its treatment process and its standard of treatment as it discharges into an important river system.

“We would also like to give thanks to the operators who work hard to keep the treatment plant working 24 hours a day seven days a week to process Canberra’s wastewater.”

LMWQCC was planned in the late 1960s and built from 1974-1978 for almost $50 million.

To rebuild a similar plant today would cost around $600 million dollars.

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