Wastewater treatment company Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa has been awarded a R187-million contract by the City of Cape Town’s Department of Water and Sanitation to upgrade and extend the treatment capacity at the Bellville wastewater treatment works (WWTW).

Following the upgrade, the Bellville plant will feature the largest membrane bioreactor (MBR) in South Africa and the facility’s capacity will increase by 20 Mℓ/d to 70 Mℓ/d.

The 20 Mℓ/d MBR will be separate from the existing activated sludge plant and construction will not affect the operation of the existing plant.

Veolia notes that it will supply a new inlet works, new biological reactors and six membrane trains for the MBR plant.

Further, it will supply a new sludge dewatering facility, as well as upgrade the existing electrical and control systems infrastructure at the Bellville WWTW.
“The water produced has to meet strict quality requirements with regard to organic matter, viruses and bacteria removal, ammonia and suspended solids content. The submerged ultrafiltration membrane technology will increase capacity while producing excellent quality treated water, which will be reused as process water by industrial and commercial clients in the area,” says Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa regional GM Abrie Wessels.

The raw wastewater to the new plant will pass through coarse screens for degritting, then through fine screens and undergo anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic treatment before undergoing ultrafiltra- tion and dewatering of sludge.

“With this capacity increase, the strain on the existing Bellville facility will reduce significantly and the effluent quality will improve. An added advantage will be the potential for the reuse of the effluent, which will reduce the use of pot- able water,” he adds.

The plant is due for commissioning in 2013.

Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa will provide training and maintenance support for the first year of operation.

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