INDUSTRIAL waste has been released into the Regional Outfall Sewer, causing a noticable ordour in the facinity.
Gippsland Water released the backlog of waste at the Gippsland Water Factory due to massive inflows of wastewater caused by recent wet weather.
Gippsland Water managing director David Mawer said the consistent heavy rain had provided a challenge for storages.
“Gippsland Water has a range of emergency storages to deal with wet weather, but recent events have inundated our storages,” he said.
“We are currently experiencing an unusual situation that requires us to store large volumes of untreated industrial wastewater that would normally be treated at the Gippsland Water Factory. The prolonged wet weather is straining that storage capability.”
Gippsland Water acknowledged the unscheduled release of untreated industrial wastewater may impact on residents in the Wellington Shire who lived or travelled in the vicinity of the ROS, where odours may be detectable. Although the odour will not return to the pre-Gippsland Water Factory level, it may be more noticeable than it has been in recent months.
Contingency plans to manage odour issues have now been put in place which consists of monitoring the volume of untreated industrial waste discharged and applying Ph correction at several locations along the ROS.
Gippsland Water has communicated with community members who live near the ROS to advise them of the changed conditions in their area.
