Better to recycle waste water and reduce ocean outfall or rely on energy-hungry desalination plants? In the lead up to the Victorian state election, a petition on change.org calls for a $60 million upgrade to the Eastern Treatment Plant to remove all contaminants from wastewater currently discharged near Gunnamatta on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. The Clean Ocean Foundation claims the Weedy Seadragon is directly impacted by the outfall – its numbers are in decline and the species is considered “near threatened.” They argue that advanced wastewater treatment plants provide purified recycled water and reduce ocean pollution.
Further Reading
Petition: Save the Weedy Seadragon. Modernise Victoria’s water policy to allow use of recycled water
Clean Ocean Foundation
Eastern Treatment Plant