An icon or a stinking eyesore - regardless of your perspective, the Hunter's largest and longest-running wastewater pump station at Newcastle West is about to undergo a multi-million dollar upgrade.
Newcastle West 1 wastewater pump station and the associated 27 metre 'stink pipe' next to the Marketown Shopping Centre car park has drawn the ire of surrounding apartment residents in recent years.
Hunter Water contractors will install an interim odour control unit at the site in the next fortnight as part of a long-awaited $5 million upgrade of the plant.
The unit will be connected to a standard-size, modern ventilation stack replacing the version that has formed part of the city skyline for more than 100 years.
Hunter Water Asset Solutions Group Manager, Justin Watts, said an odour control unit will not only improve community amenity but also protect the pump station and sewer pipes from corrosion.
"Newcastle West 1 is one of our biggest wastewater pump stations," he said.
"It transfers to Burwood Beach treatment works the wastewater from all or parts of 15 inner Newcastle suburbs: Adamstown, Broadmeadow, Carrington, Hamilton, Hamilton East, Hamilton North, Hamilton South, Islington, Maryville, Mayfield, Mayfield East, New Lambton, Tighes Hill and Wickham and Newcastle CBD.
"Installing, at first, an interim odour control unit and then a permanent one during the major upgrade will greatly reduce the unpleasant experience some residents and shoppers have experienced on occasion in the past by extracting and filtering bad-smelling gases like hydrogen sulphide, also known as rotten egg gas."
Reducing hydrogen sulphide will also limit corrosion, extending the sewerage system's operational life and making network management and maintenance more efficient.
"There are about 12,500 residents in these 15 inner Newcastle suburbs, and even though the pump station has ample capacity now, these suburbs will continue to grow including several new multi-storey residential apartment buildings, which is why we're planning for the future," Mr Watts said.
The early work and next year's major upgrade expand on Hunter Water's actions last year.
These included installing extra pipework to reduce turbulent flow in the below-ground structures and replacing ground-level covers and hatches to better contain odours.
Hunter Water is in the development phase for the major upgrade, which is part of a program to replace and upgrade water and wastewater-related assets across the region.
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