Cairns Regional Council is set to commence a $9.54 million upgrade to its Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant to optimise processes and reduce environmental risks.
The works involve the replacement and upgrade of the dewatering equipment, which is critical in ensuring wastewater biosolids, organic byproducts of the sewage treatment process, can reused in a cost-effective manner.
These organic byproducts can be suitable for uses such as fertiliser, soil conditioning, energy recovery and composting.
Effective dewatering of the sewage sludge to remove excess water reduces transport and disposal costs.
The sludge dewatering system at the Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant was installed in 2001 and at the time was the most effective dewatering process available.
However, significant improvements in dewatering have been developed since that time, and Council said that the new equipment will add redundancy to the system and reduce the potential for overflows and possible impacts on the environment.
