Challenges

The Luggage Point Advanced Water Treatment Plant (LPAWTP) is part of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project (WCRWP), one of the world’s largest recycled water schemes and the largest project of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

South East Queensland (SEQ) is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, with population and development expected to increase significantly in the next 20 years. Effective management of the region’s water resources is a crucial aspect of future planning.

Expectations for future growth along with prolonged drought conditions have highlighted the vulnerability of the SEQ region’s water resources.

Water recycling and reuse can offer substantial benefits to the community. The WCRWP aims to reduce demand on the region’s fresh water supply, secure water supplies for industrial use in South East Queensland, and minimize the environmental impact on waterways and Moreton Bay.

Solutions

As a member of the Luggage Point Alliance, Hatch designed and delivered the Luggage Point Advanced Water Treatment Plant, which provides up to 66 megalitres per day of purified recycled water to the Western Corridor Recycled Water pipeline.

The LPAWTP uses state-of-the-art technologies to improve the water quality of secondary-treated sewage for reuse as potable water and industrial cooling water. It includes flow equalization, pretreatment (coagulation and clarification for phosphate and turbidity removal), micro-filtration, reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation (hydrogen peroxide and UV dosing), and final stabilization of the water together with residue handling (thickening and dewatering).

Highlights

• The project proceeded with an extremely ambitious target of producing water within 21 months of design commencement. Following a further three-month performance-testing period, treated water was conveyed to the power stations and the Wivenhoe Dam.
• 2009 Water Reuse Project of the Year, Global Water Intelligence Awards