The Dungog Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in New South Wales’ Hunter Region was commissioned in 1938 – making it over 80 years old – and was acquired by Hunter Water Corporation (Hunter Water) from Dungog Shire Council in 2008. This plant services a township of just over 2,000 residents (just north of Newcastle) and is smack in the middle of dairy and timber country. The existing plant has just completed a $28 million upgrade project to improve water quality, with Polymaster supplying two self-bunded chemical tanks with a dosing system which played a critical role in ensuring wastewater continued to be treated during the build.
The new upgrades will replace the plant’s aging infrastructure and provide the town of Dungog and surrounding areas with a modern wastewater treatment plant, allowing for better reuse of effluent and recycled water, and improved water quality for the community.
Hunter Water Managing Director, Darren Cleary, said the major upgrade would also help deliver improved environmental outcomes.
Client requirement
The project brief was to build a temporary plant off to the side while the client demolished the old plant and built a modern facility without
disrupting the treatment plant. One critical component was the dosing of sodium hydroxide into the wastewater.
The build team required a complete solution they could connect and turn on without building unnecessary infrastructure around it, which ultimately would need to be torn down in the new build.
Solution provided
With any new build, there are complexities that need to be thought through. This particular design team had an added challenge of ‘shoe-horning’ a new plant on the same site as the existing plant, which had to remain operational at all times.
Polymaster provided two 30kL self- bunded chemical tanks with a dosing system to help dose sodium hydroxide into the wastewater. A fully integrated dosing system was housed within each cabinet of the 30kL self-bunded tanks.
As sodium hydroxide is suitable for Polymaster’s polyethylene tanks, it was a perfect solution. The designers provided Polymaster with a detailed P&ID for the dosing system to ensure they received a system that ideally suited their application.
Polymaster’s self-bunded tanks comply with AS3780 (bund capacity of 110 per cent), so the installation crew did not require the expensive and unnecessary construction of a concrete bund.
Ultimately, the end solution Polymaster provided is a cost-effective and efficient one – saving time and money. In addition, the installers were able to connect the ‘turnkey system’ with minimal on-site works, enabling the plant to operate continually. Great job to all involved!
The Dungog plant is now complete, and Polymaster is super pleased to have played a little but crucial part in keeping the operation humming along during the build. The plant is a showpiece of modern technology and innovative design.
Scope of work
• Product design
• Product manufacture
• Engineering
• Delivery
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