Red Cliffs Wastewater Treatment Plant, Victoria, Australia

Red Cliffs wastewater treatment plant was located in the town of Red Cliffs, Victoria, Australia, within the Rural City of Mildura. It served a population of approximately 1,670 people and operated with secondary treatment before being decommissioned. The plant discharged an annual volume of 432 megalitres of treated wastewater. As a secondary treatment facility, the plant provided biological treatment to reduce organic matter and suspended solids, meeting typical standards for inland plants in Australia. Australian wastewater treatment plants are regulated under state and national guidelines, including the National Water Quality Management Strategy, which sets benchmarks for effluent quality to protect receiving environments. The plant's discharge contributed to the local water cycle within the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia's largest river system. The basin supports extensive agriculture and diverse ecosystems, including wetlands and riverine habitats. Proper wastewater treatment is essential to maintain water quality for irrigation and environmental flows in this semi-arid region.

The plant's discharge entered the local drainage network within the Murray-Darling Basin, ultimately flowing into the Murray River and then to the Southern Ocean via the Murray Mouth. The basin is ecologically significant, supporting migratory birds, native fish species, and floodplain forests. Treated wastewater from the plant would have contributed to base flows in the region, where water scarcity is a key concern.