A coastal destination 140 kilometres south of Melbourne, Inverloch is known for the natural beauty of its picturesque shoreline. The sandy beaches and rolling tidal flats of nearby Anderson Inlet add to its appeal, and the area’s popularity is reflected in many tourism and recreation opportunities. Visitors enjoy nature walks, boating, swimming, and fishing.
Anderson Inlet is a coastal reserve that forms the entry point for the Tarwin River into Bass Strait. The tidal region’s shallow estuaries captivate visitors with their charming combination of turquoise waters and golden sands.
Featuring healthy fisheries, wetlands, and mudflats, Anderson Inlet has been declared an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) that provides vital habitat for native birds such as the Red-necked Stint and the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.
Situated in Bass Coast Shire, several of Inverloch’s neighbourhoods are prone to local flooding. The management of high-volume stormwater flows in local catchments is crucial for mitigating the flood risks for residents.
The interception of urban pollutants with stormwater treatment assets is also essential to stop the conveyance of these pollutants to the waterways of Anderson Inlet and to ensure sustainable, compliant water quality management.
Design Challenges: Constrained Live Residential Site
Coastal areas such as Inverloch demonstrate the benefits of integrating underground stormwater management systems for growing communities. This crucial infrastructure supports resilient urban spaces, sustainable development, and preserves nearby waterways. Underground installation also facilitates the conservation of usable land.
By providing locally manufactured water quality and quantity assets, Atlan Stormwater serviced this project throughout the design, manufacture, and installation phases. Key assets include a 180,000-litre AtlanVault On-site Stormwater Detention system (OSD) and an Ecoceptor Gross Pollutant Trap (GPT).
Retrofitting these assets in the centre of a live residential neighbourhood resulted in project challenges. These included overhead powerlines, constrained site access, trafficability requirements, and narrow roads. These were overcome by Atlan’s seamless project management, asset delivery, and modular product designs.
The AtlanVault OSD system was deployed in six phases over a three-week progressive installation program. The tank’s modular design provided quick and efficient installation, and our team supported project objectives with best-practice management, coordination, logistics, and delivery.
This staged management preserved community access, minimised disruption, ensured immediate trafficability, and allowed the project to meet strict scheduling requirements without compromising the safety of site personnel and the local community.
Accompanying the OSD, the installation of an Ecoceptor will provide first-line defence to capture pollution from incoming stormwater flows. Installed upstream of the OSD system, this stormwater treatment device will intercept gross pollutants, sediment, and debris, preventing their conveyance into the detention system and local waterways.
The Atlan Ecoceptor is a locally manufactured primary treatment device featuring 100-year design life and single-piece modular design. Providing a robust, low-maintenance solution for stormwater treatment, its ease of maintenance will lower operational costs by reducing pollutant loads entering the AtlanVault.
With durable FRP construction, vortex pollution capture action, and easy access for vacuum trucks through manhole covers, Ecoceptor is a robust, high-performance GPT (Gross Pollutant Trap) device with streamlined maintenance. Featuring class-D loading, its trafficability also met site requirements for stormwater systems to be situated underneath roads and pavement areas.
This dual installation of crucial stormwater infrastructure will futureproof the local community by safeguarding property, public roads, and Anderson Inlet’s natural environments.
Supporting our commitment to protecting Joy in Water for future generations, the project is a prime example of the Atlan way, and the design applications of stormwater assets for integration in constrained sites in live urban neighbourhoods.
