Future Water Story, Western Treatment Plant. Students explore the theme: How do we make the use of water in Melbourne sustainable? Complete activities and a quiz

The Story of Water: Episode 1. The water cycle, or the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water around the Earth

The amount of water in our environment is influenced by the type of climate. Across Australia, there are six broad climate zones. Climate is the average weather conditions of a place for a long period of time, while weather is the atmospheric conditions (hot day, rain, cool conditions) for a brief period of time. 

Hard surfaces like roads and footpaths in our cities stop rain from soaking into the ground. This water must go somewhere, and a network of stormwater pipes has been built across our cities to remove this excess water when it rains.
Stormwater pipes are different to the pipes in our homes. When it rains, water in our streets flows into stormwater drains, along with any rubbish or pollutants in the street.

Discover what happens to wastewater after it leaves homes and businesses; and learn how it is treated and recycled. There are two main treatment plants in Melbourne, the Western Treatment Plant and the Eastern Treatment Plant, which treats over 90% of Melbourne’s sewage.

Dive into the future of Melbourne’s water! In this interactive-digital challenge, students team up to uncover real evidence of climate change’s impact on Melbourne's water supply. Using the World of Water interactive map and resources from the BOM, they’ll use data to investigate, debate and brainstorm solutions to one of the biggest challenges our world’s cities are currently facing.