These eight nominees beat the field to make it to our select list of finalists in the 2013 PACE Zenith Water & Wastewater Awards proudly sponsored by Burkert Fluid Control Systems.
UGL Engineering
The Nepean Water Filtration Plant – Electrical and SCADA Upgrade
One of Sydney Water's critical water supply systems is the Nepean Water Filtration Plant (WFP), located in the Southern Highlands of NSW, supplying residents with 36 million Litres of water a day.
To improve the reliability of the plant, a new site wide PLC and SCADA system was implemented, and associated mechanical and electrical equipment were upgraded, ensuring the plant continues to produce high quality water for the community.
UGL was engaged by Sydney Water to design, construct and commission the Nepean WFP Renewal of SCADA and Electrical Assets Project.
Sound approaches to quality and project management ensured project success within schedule and budget.
Technological innovations such as new designs of positioning valve actuators, and the design of a robust duty/ standby Profibus communication network will safeguard the plant's reliability for many years to come.
Carefully considered approaches to cut-overs, commissioning and plant optimisation ensured no unplanned disruptions to the plant's production during the life cycle of the project, and enables operators to further fine tune plant parameters well into the future.
Aroona
Calibration Management System
Aroona are responsible for all Water Corporation surface, ground and wastewater assets within the Perth metropolitan area.
The main objective was to come up with a better calibration system allowing the company to adhere to changing regulatory standards and technology. A system that was also accurate, easy to use, cost effective.
In the field, Aroona had old bulky test equipment unable to carry out accurate calibrations and on some transmitters, not able to carry out any calibrations at all.
They also had issues with documentation not being filled out correctly, filed and approved consistently.
Beamex MC-5’s in tandem with the CMX software was implemented as a replacement. It offered a multi-function piece of test equipment that could directly be used with a paperless calibration database.
The software also provides the capability of audit trail, reverse traceability and reliability statistics.
Sinclair Knight Merz
Critical Portfolio Work Program Goodna STP Upgrade Stage 4A
Promoting a healthy ecosystem that will sustainably support the livelihoods and lifestyles of people in the region was a collaborative vision developed by Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) and the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Strategy.
The achievement of this vision to rehabilitate and protect the Brisbane River catchment was progressed by the upgrade of Goodna Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).
QUU identified that the Goodna STP required a significant upgrade to meet not only the identified future demand for wastewater services of the region, but also to meet stringent effluent release license limits which will come into effect in 2013.
Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) was engaged to provide multi-disciplinary engineering design services, including process, mechanical, civil, electrical, instrumentation and control for this upgrade of the Goodna STP.
Key outcomes included: An increase in treatment capacity of 89%, from 50,000 EP to 90,000 EP; Significantly improved environmental outcomes by reduced nutrient loads on the Brisbane River, achieved through stringent effluent design limits and the use of a disinfection process that does not create environmentally harmful by-products, whilst improving biosolids stabilisation and dewatering.
The implementation of a real time monitoring and control system as part of the Goodna STP upgrade was a critical element in the achievement of promoting a healthy ecosystem that will sustainably support the livelihoods and lifestyles of people in the region.
SA Water
North-South Interconnection System Project
SA Water's North South Interconnection System Project (NSISP) consists of a range of works to connect up the northern and southern water supply networks.
The project has delivered four new pipelines, three pump stations, three valve stations as well as a number of smaller works across the water distribution network to allow SA Water to move water across one connected system.
The project improves water reliability for metropolitan Adelaide and allows water from the new Adelaide desalination plant to be distributed throughout the whole water supply network system.
The project is a $403 million infrastructure investment and has been delivered to improve network security and flexibility for Adelaide.
The NSISP has been delivered by SA Water utilising private sector expertise through an integrated project delivery model. This differs from the more standard design and construct or early contractor involvement contract models that are usually employed by the business to deliver major capital projects.
This has enabled a flexibility of approach to deliver against a range of challenges including compressed timeframes, community concern, technical risk, asset condition, water quality, customer service, procurement process and brand management.
SA Water and its partners achieved design, deliver, install and commission within the tight timeframes necessary for the project.
Extensive design work allowed the removal of an intermediate transformer on the input controlling a 3,300 volt motor thereby saving an anticipated 1 to 2% losses over 6MW of installed motor load.
APC Integration
Common pump station design delivers benefits to six Councils in South Australia
Following identification of the need to improve maintenance standards and ensure regulatory compliance of community wastewater management systems, a group of six local councils in the South East of the State agreed to conduct a pilot study to assess the benefit of an across-Council's joint service arrangement.
There existed different switchgear and ways of operation between the various council wastewater systems and there was an obvious need to improve compliance and upgrade emergency communications systems.
APC Integration, was commissioned to create a common design and standard for all community wastewater management systems across the respective council regions.
Common hardware would result in bulk purchasing discounts, reduced spares, simplified maintenance and reduced training for staff.
A unique aspect of this project was designing a system that could be used by six different councils with shared resources while controlling how much of the data can be shared between councils.
This was a tricky political situation, and the solution was to avoid storing data at any of the council depots and instead use a 'cloud' based design.
Once fully implemented, this pilot project is likely to provide a strong impetus for promotion of the model to other regions across the state, as well as potentially to other regions across Australia.
CST Wastewater Solutions
Bathurst Regional Council supernatant recycling project demonstrates substantial water conservation
The Bathurst Regional Council has introduced a supernatant recycling system into the filtration plant of the town's water supply, helping to conserve potable water and providing substantial water savings over the long term.
The system recovers and disinfects the filter backwash water at the plant.
The new system involved the construction of a supernatant pumping station and associated pipework.
This enabled the automatic recycling of supernatant from the sludge lagoons into an in-ground well, and then into the first chamber of the rapid mix tank.
LogiCamms
Victorian Desalination Plant Process Control System
The Victorian Desalination Plant is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the state's history, and involved the largest Siemens PCS7 installation in the Southern Hemisphere.
The sheer scope, size and technological challenges of the project required close collaboration with vendors and partners to produce a successful outcome.
The delivery of the control system required meticulous and innovative planning, design and delivery.
Key challenges included: scale and complexity; accuracy, redundancy; diverse stakeholders and complex project management.
LogiCamms worked for over three years to safely develop and implement a process control system solution on schedule, within budget, and with added value for all stakeholders.
CAPS Australia
Robuschi Blowers at Yarra Park Recycled Water Treatment Plant
CAPS Australia supplied four Robuschi ROBOX positive displacement blowers which are used to aerate the water during treatment and to provide backwash to clean membrane filters at the Yarra Park Recycled Water Treatment Plant.
To successfully implement this project into an underground bunker, the first of its kind in Victoria, they had to overcome some very unique project requirements:
• Small floor space availability – fit into a very constrained and narrow space in the ‘bunker’. Many models of blowers typically take up a ‘larger’ footprint.
• Service access normally occurs at the back of the machines and sides of blowers for any maintenance work, but this was not possible as the machines needed to be installed side by side, with minimal space at the back. Models with maintenance access via top and front panels were chosen, fitting the site’s needs perfectly, completely eliminating occupational health and safety (OHS) issues.
• In addition, to reduce the operational time between servicing, an automatic belt tensioning system was also installed.
The 2013 PACE Zenith Water & Wastewater Awards are sponsored by Burkert Fluid Control Systems.
Burkert Fluid Control Systems
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