Biodiversity Conservation
As well as being a world leader in sewage treatment, the Western Treatment Plant is also one of the world's most important wetlands. It provides a haven for tens of thousands of birds and encompasses a diverse and complex array of landforms, vegetation and wildlife.
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In 1983, the western shores of Port Phillip Bay, including the Bellarine Peninsula, were designated a 'Wetland of International Importance' under the Ramsar Convention. This classification includes the Western Treatment Plant's Lake Borrie and its surrounding lagoons and coastal mudflats. The site is also listed under other international agreements including the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA) for the protection of migratory waders.
Western Treatment Plant also provides sanctuary for many animals and reptiles of importance. Amongst these are the endangered Growling Grass Frog (Litoria ranifomis), and the threatened Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) and Striped Legless Lizard (Delma impar).
The plant also has a diverse array of vegetation communities and species. It supports a large population of the critically endangered Plains Spiny Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens) and a number of threatened ecological vegetation classes including Coastal Saltmarsh and Western Basalt Plains Grassland.
In moving to a modern era, the challenge is to strike a new balance between better sewage treatment processes and conserving the Western Treatment Plant's native biodiversity values. We formed the Western Treatment Plant Biodiversity Conservation Advisory Committee in 1989. The committee's aim is to protect the natural values of the area through research and monitoring, pest animal control and weed removal and revegetation programs.