{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/68c2278605de5daa22c77302/69f05754e615a680f55e621a?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"A Million Litres and Counting","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/68c2278605de5daa22c77302/1777358528213-ecfec494-36d2-47fd-bc00-b69d8574ad2c.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p><em>\"The wastewater doesn't lie.\"</em></p><p><br></p><p>You've walked past it a hundred times without knowing it's there. Beneath the stages, the food stalls, and the dusty paths of Woodford Folk Festival runs more than 50 kilometres of sewers — and a treatment system so sophisticated it's now a cover story in American engineering magazines and a blueprint for festivals around the world.</p><p><br></p><p>Harley Breen sits down with Ben Kele, the quietly hilarious wastewater engineer who has been running Woodfordia's decentralised water system for the past 16 years. What begins as a conversation about poo quickly becomes something much bigger: a story about world-leading science, practical environmentalism, and what it looks like when a festival takes its responsibilities to the land seriously.</p><p><br></p><p>Ben explains how Woodford processes up to a million litres of wastewater a day during the festival — every drop treated on site, with not a single litre trucked in or out. He talks about the unique challenge of a system that swings from 15,000 litres on a quiet construction day to a million litres on the 27th of December, what the water chemistry reveals about who's on site and what they've been drinking, and how a small research project that started right here at Woodford became the foundation for Australia's national pharmaceutical wastewater tracking program — now used by public health agencies and federal law enforcement nationwide. He also tells the story of his brother Andrew, a flannel dressing gown, a dozen flushed bras, and a very unfortunate encounter with Chris Martin.</p><p><br></p><p>This episode is for:</p><ul><li>Anyone who's ever wondered what actually happens when 130,000 people flush</li><li>People who believe the most interesting infrastructure is the kind you never see</li><li>Anyone who finds genuine joy in a person who is brilliant at something the rest of us would rather not think about</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Dive in to hear about:</p><ul><li>How Woodfordia became the unlikely birthplace of Australia's national drug-detection-via-wastewater program — and the AFP funding that got it started</li><li>What the water chemistry difference is between a Woodford Folk Festival crowd and other music festival crowds — and what it says about what people choose to drink</li><li>Why composting toilets work brilliantly in Tasmania and terribly in a Queensland summer, and the fly hatching cycle that explains everything</li><li>The story of Andrew the bog monster, a flannel dressing gown, a dozen flushed bras, and a very famous rock star who witnessed the whole thing from a stretch limousine</li></ul><p><br></p><p>To come to the Woodford Folk Festival this year visit:<a href=\"https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/</a></p><p><br></p><p>FOR MORE:&nbsp;</p><p>Harley Breen:<a href=\"https://www.harleybreen.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> https://www.harleybreen.com.au</a>&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Ben Kele and Arris Water:</p><p><br></p><p>Woodford Folk Festival Water System — Arris Water Case Study:<a href=\"https://www.arris.com.au/water/water-projects/queensland-folk-federation-qld/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> https://www.arris.com.au/water/water-projects/queensland-folk-federation-qld/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Woodford Folk Festival feature — The Onsite Journal, Summer 2024:<a href=\"https://www.nowra.org/Customer-Content/www/news/PDFs/Onsite_Journal_Summer_2024_Online.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> https://www.nowra.org/Customer-Content/www/news/PDFs/Onsite_Journal_Summer_2024_Online.pdf</a></p><p><br></p><p>CREDITS: Host: Harley Breen | Guest: Ben Kele | Executive Producer: Benny Wallington | Producers: Cameron Scurrah, Bree Hickson-Jamieson | Sound Editing: Keiron Atkinson | Video Editing: Nick Haddow | Music by: The East Pointers | Recorded on Jinibara Country</p><p><br></p><p>#RadioWoodfordia #BenKeele #HarleyBreen #WoodfordFolkFestival #Woodfordia #WastewaterManagement #Sustainability #Environment #MusicFestivals #FestivalLife #Podcast #WaterScience</p><p><br></p><p>Key topics:</p><p>Decentralized water systems for festivals</p><p>Innovative wastewater treatment techniques</p><p>Research and monitoring of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in wastewater</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>","author_name":"Woodfordia INC"}