The Moreton Bay Regional Council depot in Petrie needed to upgrade its existing wash bay system. The original setup was outdated and no longer met environmental compliance standards. The wash area was unroofed, space was limited, and the site handled frequent washdowns of heavy vehicles and equipment.
Key requirements for the new system included:
- Two unroofed wash pads
- Heavy-duty washdown capability for large machinery
- Use of harvested water to support sustainable operations
- Automated first flush diversion during rain events
- Integrated oil and solids separation to meet trade waste discharge standards
- A system that could function without roofing infrastructure, due to the size of onsite equipment
Council Collaboration
Victor Cross from Chilton Woodward & Associates and David Dickson from Fox Environmental met on-site to plan the upgrade.
Since the area couldn’t be roofed, they designed a tailored solution that could:
- Manage dirty stormwater runoff during rain
- Reuse harvested water for washdown
- Treat large volumes of oily and sediment-laden wastewater
- Operate in a fully automated manner with minimal input from depot staff
The goal was to keep the system simple, effective, and automated, while meeting all environmental and trade waste compliance requirements.
The Solution
To meet the council’s needs, Fox Environmental supplied and installed a complete turnkey trade waste and stormwater treatment solution.
✅ Fox FF600BRT First Flush Diversion System
- Automatically diverts the first flush of contaminated stormwater when it rains.
- Designed to handle dirt, oil, and debris from heavy machinery and vehicle washdown areas.
- Prevents polluted runoff from entering local waterways and storm drains.
✅ Fox FX6000 Oil & Solids Separator
- Treats diverted water to meet local trade waste discharge standards.
- Suitable for high-load environments with large volumes of wastewater.
- Requires minimal maintenance, making it ideal for busy depots and council operations.
The system was built to handle constant use in a rugged environment and supports fully automated operation. This ensures consistent performance without the need for staff to manually switch or monitor system components – a key factor for such a high-traffic site.
Results
The upgraded system delivered the following benefits to Moreton Bay Regional Council:
- Full compliance with environmental and trade waste requirements
- Eliminated need for costly roofing infrastructure
- Capable of handling high volumes of washdown runoff daily
- Supports reuse of harvested water for sustainable operations
- Protects local waterways from oil, sediment, and chemical pollutants
- Low maintenance system with reliable automated performance
💬 Customer Feedback
“There are a lot of different users on our wash area, so the site is always dirty. The Fox First Flush System automatically takes the first flush of dirty water to treatment when it rains. We couldn’t use a roof as some of our equipment is too big – the Fox FF600 is perfect for the job.”
— Moreton Bay Council Representative
Need to Upgrade Your Council Depot or Wash Bay?
Fox systems are trusted by councils across Australia for certified, automated diversion and treatment. Our systems are designed for space constraints, environmental compliance, and demanding vehicle wash zones.
