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Windhoek gets flagship wastewater plant

30th May 2014

  

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A wastewater treatment project near the city of Windhoek’s northern industrial zone has been designed to treat up to 5 000 m3/d of industrial wastewater for re-use and irrigation, and is one of the city’s key water infrastructure projects aimed at complying with Namibia’s updated national water regulations, says water solutions and technology provider Veolia.

Veolia, part of the global Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies group of companies, is currently executing the electrical design and mechanical installation of the new R125-million Ujams industrial wastewater treatment project.

The Ujams wastewater treatment company, a special purpose company, contracted Veolia alongside multinational company VA Tech Wabag in 2012, to design, build, install and commission the wastewater treatment plant. The Ujams wastewater treatment company raised finance for the project and will operate and maintain the plant for 21 years.

“The new Ujams wastewater plant is designed to accommodate additional effluent from future industrial developments in the greater catch-ment area,” says Veolia MD Gunter Rencken. He adds that this new plant will enable reliability, efficiency and compliance with the country’s standards for reclaimed water used for irrigation.

The plant’s incoming wastewater is screened and de-gritted before entering the latest-generation membrane bioreactor system. Before being released from the plant, the water is disinfected with ultraviolet treatment, and the various treatment areas are linked to an odour removal process.

Improved Water for Communities
The new wastewater treatment plant replaces the region’s older Ujams wastewater treatment plant, located roughly 20 km north of Windhoek. Originally commissioned in 1966, the plant gradually became overloaded with the northern industrial zone’s expansion. With a large tannery, a brewery and an abat-toir discharging effluents into the catchment area, peak flows often resulted in poor treatment quality, which caused odours within the nearby Elisenheim and Brakwater communities.

“The new plant features some of the water industry’s latest technologies, and we are able to remove high levels of E-coli and other pathogens, grease and salts, which will make the water ideal for re-use as irrigation water. “During the rainy season, when the demand for irrigation water is low, the high-grade reclaimed water will be discharged into the Klein Windhoek river, where it will enter the groundwater system or the Swakop- poort dam as a high-quality water stream,” Rencken says.

The city’s main drinking water reclamation system at Goreangab is a world-first in water reuse by upgrading municipal sewage for direct reuse in the city’s potable water reticulation system.

“To protect this system from industrial inflows, Windhoek’s wastewater systems have been set up in such a way that effluents coming from industrial areas are kept separate from domestic sewage, and treated separately. This, as well as the fact that the Swakoppoort dam is a main source of drinking water for the city, makes the Ujams plant a critical part of the city’s infrastructure,” adds Rencken.

Interim Wastewater Treatment
An interim wastewater project was started during April 2012, and was completed in October 2013. During construction of the interim project, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa’s Namibian subsidiary, Aqua Services & Engineering, or ASE, installed two Actiflo water purification units in an emergency effort to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination from overloading, while simultaneously making recycled water available for irrigation and other nondrinking purposes.

At a construction cost of around R2.96-million, the plants are configured to treat 4.8-million litres a day. “These portable, fully containerised plants will be redeployed by the city when the new water reclamation plant has been commissioned. “We are already in talks as to where these plants will be used in the future,” concludes Rencken.

About Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies is the Veolia Water subsidiary that specialises in technical solutions and design and build projects for water and wastewater treatment for industrial and municipal clients. Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies recorded revenue of €2.4-billion in 2012.

Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environment, is the world leader in water and wastewater services. Specialised in outsourcing services for municipal authorities, as well as industrial and service companies, it is also one of the world’s major designers of technological solutions and constructor of facilities needed in water and wastewater services. With 89 094 employees, Veolia Water provides water services to 100-million people and wastewater services to 71-million. Its 2012 revenue amounted to €12.078-billion.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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