As part of the $74 million upgrade to the Wodonga Wastewater Treatment Plant, North East Water completed a full clean-out of one of the plant’s digesters, the large tanks where sewage sludge is broken down by micro-organisms. Taking a digester completely out of service is rare and usually happens only once every decade or two.

The clean-out allows the digester to be converted into a bioreactor, which will treat wastewater more efficiently, producing cleaner water while reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Engaged by CCB Envico, First Scaff provided safe access into the digester for the works, with a 6.5 m stretcher stair tower that was craned into the tank and lifted back out on completion, linked to scaffold stairs and walkways across the surrounding plant. The stair design allows a stretcher to be carried out of the tank if a worker ever needs to be retrieved.