4K’s Class Blog

We reflected on our trip to the treatment plant at Mount Martha

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Our class visited the Mount Martha Treatment Plant and we SURVIVED!

We learnt and experienced what happens to our sewage. Some of us chose to ‘inspect’ the screen area where all the bits and pieces that end up in the sewerage pipes are removed. It was SO smelly in there! The wastewater comes from our toilets, bathrooms, laundries and kitchens so you can imagine what goes through the sewers into the plant. We were able to see all the stages for cleaning our wastewater. It was amazing how clean the water looked at the end. Chlorine is added at the final stage and the treated water is pumped out into the sea near Gunamatta where it becomes part of the natural water cycle. Our guides explained to us the difference between the sewerage and storm water system. We learnt about the things that should NOT go down the drain such as fats and oils, poisons, nappies and cotton buds. We also watched a movie which showed what is down in the sewer. We saw tree roots and fat which completely blocked the pipes and even little rats who were scavenging for food scraps.

We finished off the day with a visit to The Briars at Mount Martha where we were able to have a picnic and play with our friends.

Hi, my name is Bradley Raindrop and I’m in a sink with heaps and heaps of other water droplets. Someone is cleaning their vegetables in here. Hmm … I’m going round and round now. Wait, I’m going down the sink and through the S Bend. Ow! I hit my head on the top of the bend. Wow! I never knew a pipe could be so filthy. There’s heaps of fat and oil here. I think the pipes are made of clay. Ahh! I’m going through a gap in the tree root and the wind is making me fly into a river. Boy it’s hot! I can hear water falling. In the next second I can feel myself falling, I’m falling down a waterfall. Ahh! I’m going to hit a rock. A second before I hit the rock, I evaporated. Wow! I’m going up to the clouds. It was really lucky i didn’t hit the rock. It’s really cold here. I think I’m going to rain with the other droplets. Yes, I was right. I am falling. Splash – right into a human’s water tank. Ahh! I’m coming out a hose and onto some plants. After this I reckon I will start another adventure.

Hi, I’m Tiffany, a tiny drop of water sitting in the ocean at the moment. Wow, I’m starting to rise up into the sky with all of my friends. It’s very high up here and the views are amazing. I’m starting to cool down and connect with all of my friends. There are trillions of us and we are forming a cloud. We are playing Eye Spy when all of a sudden … cool, we are falling from the sky. Ouch, that hurt! I think I’m in a river. This is so much fun. We are going really quickly at the moment. Now I’m in a really big pool. No wait, that isn’t right. I think it’s a reservoir. It has been three years but it feels like a millenium. I haven’t moved at all but I’m starting to move now though. I’m entering a huge pipe. It’s very long. I think I’m in a treatment plant. Yeah that’s right. I’m going through all these filters. All of this stuff is getting added - flouride, chlorine and lime and I don’t like lime! But it is only a little bit so it isn’t that bad. Now I’m in more pipes again. I’m being pumped into a service reservoir. Mmm, I can smell pizza. It must be from a worker. Cool! I’m going through more pipes now. it must be underground because all I can see is brown, black and burgandy coloured rock. The pipes are very long. But now I seem to be going through smaller pipes. Here we go! Out a tap now. I’m helping wash some vegetables. Oh no! She’s pulling the plug out. Time for another adventure.

I did a project on Mount St Helens. It was very interesting and I found out a lot of new information.   My Aunty used to live about 2 kilometres away from Mount St HelenS. She left 5 weeks before the eruption.

I made a papier mache model showing before and after a tsunami. I found out that tsunamis are extremely dangerous. The wave can be as high as 30 metres and can cause damage and flooding. It can change the shape of the land.

We worked together to find out about what causes erosion at our school and tried to suggest ways to stop this from happening. We found out that the main reason was human impact such as taking short cuts, digging in the dirt and favourite play areas (goal square).