Jacopa has delivered two of its packaged rotating biological contactors (RBCs) to help a wastewater treatment plant in rural south-west Wales meet a more stringent Natural Resources Wales discharge consent.
The treatment plant serves the village of Henllan in Ceredigion, west of Llandysul, which currently has a population of over 800. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water forecast in its Asset Strategy that the population would increase 37% by 2040, a projection that has to be accommodated within the scheme.
Expanding the existing treatment works was considered impractical and uneconomic, so Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, in partnership with design & build contractor Kier Services, planned a new asset based around RBC technology.
Jacopa was commissioned by Kier Services through a competitive tender to provide the two RBC 950 units. These were constructed to a standardised design and built and assembled off site, allowing site delivery and installation time to be reduced to just one day. The units together will be able to fully treat a flow of 1210m3/day.
The project is part of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s £30m compliance risk capital investment programme to reduce serviceability and consent compliance risk, and is designed to meet a stricter indicative discharge consent that requires the plant to produce no more than 30mg/l BOD, 45mg/l TSS and 20mg/l ammonia.
The new site will also incorporate a new inlet works, two conical GRP primary settlement tanks and two conical GRP final settlement tanks, as well as a sludge holding tank and sludge return pumping station.
Jacopa has over 20 years’ experience in design and installation of RBCs, which are designed in accordance with the Water Industry Mechanical and Electrical Specifications (WIMES). The shaft and frame design are in accordance with Cranfield University’s guidance to give a 20-year design life expectancy.
Jacopa’s Biological Products Group’s Operations Manager, Keith Wylie, commented: “This project represents the completion of a substantial step in meeting our objective to deliver built off site packaged biological treatment plant to the UK water industry.”
The standard design can easily be tailored to meet each customer’s individual specifications, says Jacopa, and enables shorter lead times and competitive pricing.
