RAAF Base Williams, former Fire Training Area (FTA), Point Cook, is one of the most significant remediation projects undertaken in Victoria from both a historical and environmental perspective.
Located at the longest continuously operating military airfield in the world, the base is included on the Commonwealth Heritage List. But firefighting training activities had significantly tainted the underlying soil and groundwater, contaminating it with organic hydrocarbons including DNAPL, LNAPL and dissolved phase contamination.
In 2013, the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Defence) selected Enviropacific as the remediation contractor for the site, which included the preparation and remediation of the site.
Between 2013 and 2015, over 70,000 tonnes of highly contaminated soils were excavated on site, treated by ex-situ direct-fired thermal desorption technology and reinstated on site in validated excavation cells.
More than 15 million litres of dissolved phase contaminated groundwater were treated by a multifaceted water treatment system. The project was delivered on time and met all environmental and regulatory expectations.
Summary
- 2015 Australasian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA) Clean-up Project Excellence Award
- 70,000T of highly contaminated soils excavated
- 15 million litres of contaminated groundwater treated