Dubbo and townships further downstream on the Macquarie River are benefiting from the latest installation of one of the largest Gross Pollutant Traps (GPT) orderable in Australia. The GPT has been installed on the Western side of the Serisier Bridge in Dubbo and has a capacity of catching 40 tonnes of rubbish.
The installation of this GPT and 63 others, has been a long-standing commitment of Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) to its community. Mayor of the Dubbo Region Ben Shields said he is pleased to see the work complete and the trap working as it should.
"Dubbo Regional Council currently owns and maintains a suite of 64 gross pollutant traps. 46 GPTs are located in Dubbo, while a further 18 are located in Wellington. In total this means we collect approximately 350 tonnes of waste from going into our river system each year, with this value climbing to 450 tonnes in wetter years," Councillor Shields.
"When I was first elected Mayor we made a commitment to the many community groups that would volunteer their time collecting rubbish from the Macquarie River, we said we'd make a change and I believe this project has delivered on that promise," he said.
DRC's Director of Infrastructure, Julian Geddes said the West Dubbo trap is one of the biggest in Australia.
"The West Dubbo GPT is the largest proprietary trap in Australia, which means it's the biggest we can order before we look at custom built traps. The trap measures an impressive 11 metres deep and has the capacity to capture forty tonnes of rubbish," Mr Geddes said.
"The process of installing the West Dubbo GPT commenced July 2020 and was completed late last year and since then the trap has collected approximately 32 tonnes of rubbish, a great result for our river system," he said.
Dubbo Regional Council officially celebrated the install of the West Dubbo GPT by inviting stakeholders to a ribbon cutting event. The event included photo boards to demonstrate the process of the installation, a talk from supplier Murray Powell, Optimal Strom Water and the 'lifting of the lid' to exhibit the depth and amount of rubbish already collected by the trap.
Gross Pollutant Traps (GPTs) are installed to catch stormwater pollution before it enters waterways. GPTs act like a filter, retaining litter but allowing water to flow through.
