Federation University students witness water transformation
Engineering and science students from Federation University were lucky enough to witness first-hand the transformation from raw water to clean, fresh drinking water last week as part of a tour of the water treatment plant at Traralgon.
The excursion was part of an annual Federation University field trip for students studying environmental chemistry to become more familiar with the chemical and physical aspects of water treatment.
Dr Alison Green, Lecturer of Chemistry at Federation University agreed that the water treatment process was something that not a lot of people get to see first-hand, and is a real eye-opener to the science and infrastructure required to transform raw dam water, into clean potable water ready for human consumption.
“I like my students to see the infrastructure involved first hand. It is important for them to see the scale of the processes, and to be able to put into context material that we are covering in the classroom,” Dr Green added.
Michelle Colwell, Senior Engineer / Scientist Water Treatment at Gippsland Water was on hand to guide the students through some of the finer points of treating water to a drinkable standard.
“When people see the amount of material removed from raw water during the treatment process, they are generally surprised. We are pleased to have worked with Monash/Federation University for the past decade to provide their science and engineering students with a valuable insight into how raw water is treated for people to drink,” added Ms Colwell.
The Traralgon water treatment plant is one of 16 that Gippsland Water operate throughout its operational district.
All media enquiries:
Please contact our Communications and Engagement team using our media enquiry form