17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference€¦ · maintain and manage our water cycle whilst meeting the ... 5Cs 4 17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference

17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference

Sharing KnowledgeBallina Beach Resort, Ballina

26 & 27 October 2015

SUEZ provides smart and reliable solutions to make the best use of our water resourcesInnovative solutions for the water sector Production of drinking water

Seawater desalination

Wastewater treatment & recycling

Sludge treatment & resource recovery

Network management

4 core services } Design & build

} Operation & maintenance

} Equipment

} Build-own-operate-transfer

Please join us for our presentation on the Adelaide River WTP upgrade, the first ion and manganese biological project in Australia Monday 26 October 2015 1.15PM - 2.45PM

Contents3 ....................Welcome4–5 ...............Conference program6 ....................Keynote speakers7 ....................Regulatory panel speakers8 ....................Our sponsors10–18 ...........Abstracts19 ..................Trade exhibitors20 .................NSW Awards

Adam Wilson ATOM Consulting Convenor NSW Engineers and Operators Regional Conference & Australian Water Association NSW Branch Committee member

Welcome to Ballina and to the 17th AWA’s Engineers and Operators Conference in New South Wales.

It’s great to see the conference return to the north coast and with a strong program and delegates from across the water sector, it’s sure to be a great couple of days. This conference is all about sharing knowledge and we trust our range of speakers will provide you with new information and ideas, which can be taken back to your workplace. This conference is also importantly about networking with water utilities, regulators, researchers, suppliers and consultants – developing new contacts and catching up with your colleagues from across the state – so please enjoy yourself.

We are thrilled this year to have two major sponsors of the conference which shows the high regard the industry has for this event. Thank you to Suez and Trility who have again come on board as gold sponsors of this event. I’d also like to acknowledge the support of Steel Mains in sponsoring the Conference Dinner and Atom Consulting for sponsoring the welcome drinks. Without all our sponsors a conference such as this would not be possible.

This year we are fortunate to have for four keynote speakers, Mehreen Faruqi MLC, Dr Shannon McBride, Katy Brady and Prof Scott Smith, who will discuss key water sector issues from a political, technical, regulatory and education

perspective respectively. And this year’s regulatory panel, which is always a feature of this conference, is particular important given the changes to WICA, impending regulations, ‘Fit for the future’, risk based licencing and best practice management framework. We thank Paul Byleveld (NSW Health), Katy Brady (Metropolitan Water Directorate), Nanda Altavilla (DP Water) and Martin Puddey (EPA) for agreeing to participate.

To our exhibitors the Bureau of Meteorology, PCA Technologies, ProMinent Fluid Controls, Royce Water Technologies, SAFE Group Automation and Total Flow Control, I am looking forward to seeing your products and have you engage with us in finding innovative ways to operate in an environment where the only constant is change.

Finally it takes a team to put together such a conference and I’d like to thank the organising committee (Annalisa Contos, Greg Mashiah, Tim Mackney, Iain Fairbairn, Cheryl Marvell, Murray Thompson, David Nixon) and AWA staff (Fiona McCredie, Michael Sellers and Steve Comey) for all your help.

Enjoy the Conference.

Cr David Wright Ballina Mayor

Welcome to Ballina

I am very pleased the conference is being held in this beautiful part of the world. For the people who live and work in this region, water is vital to support our communities and businesses. As a council, we are conscious of the money and resources required to maintain and manage our water cycle whilst meeting the regulations and the community’s expectations; and all within the framework of fit for the future.

I hope you enjoy this conference and the networking with your colleagues – we hope you’ll return to Ballina again in the near future.

Sharing knowledge

17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference

SUEZ provides smart and reliable solutions to make the best use of our water resourcesInnovative solutions for the water sector Production of drinking water

Seawater desalination

Wastewater treatment & recycling

Sludge treatment & resource recovery

Network management

4 core services } Design & build

} Operation & maintenance

} Equipment

} Build-own-operate-transfer

Please join us for our presentation on the Adelaide River WTP upgrade, the first ion and manganese biological project in Australia Monday 26 October 2015 1.15PM - 2.45PM

Sharing knowledge - Conference program

Sunday 25 October5.00PM - 6:00PM Registration

6:00PMWelcome drinks - Wild Prawn Restaurant, Ballina Beach Resort

Sponsored by ATOM Consulting

10.15AM - 10:45AM Morning Tea

10:45AM-12.15PM

STREAM: Crisis: danger or opportunity Chair: David Nixon

STREAM: Quality: is perfect the enemy of good Chair: Cheryl Marvell

30 days in the life of MidCoast Water (Graeme Watkins, MidCoast Water)

The evolving risk paradigm, quality versus quantity (Matthew Bloomfield, Hunter H2O)

Incident response during the April east coast low storm event (Karen Arkinstall & Elissa Peattie, Veolia)

Implementation of a drinking water management system (Andrew Swan, Ballina Shire)

Managing an Emergency Situation at Rochester Water Treatment Plant (Matt Dawson/Greg Wood, Trility)

Trial implementation of health based targets (Marty Hancock, Tweed Shire)

12:15PM - 1.15PM Lunch

1.15PM -2:45PM

STREAM: Innovative treatment solutions (Part 1) Chair: Tim Mackney

STREAM: Small systems, big results water quality Chair: Greg Mashiah

Automating a clarification and multimedia filtration facility in the face of highly variable feedwater turbidity (Bruce Atkinson, Hunter H2O)

Managing mains water quality in three remote villages with minimal treatment (Aaron Taylor, EcoTech)

Successful operation of varying treatment processes within a single operations team (Adam Medlock, Trility)

Adelaide river water treatment plant upgrade: commissioning of the first iron and manganese biological treatment plant (Veronique Bonnelye, SUEZ)

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and ancillary benefits in remote villages: design, performance and operation and maintenance (Keith Bolton, Ecotech)

Orange water treatment plant filter upgrade - to the heart of the matter (Jon Francis, Orange City Council)

Monday 26 October8.30AM-9:00AM Registration

9:00AMWelcome from Adam Wilson, Organising Committee Chair

Welcome from David Wright, Ballina Mayor

9.15AM – 10.15AM

Keynote speakers

Dr Mehreen Faruqi, MLC – A political insight into NSW’s environmental, water and climate outlook and the emerging pressures

Dr Shannon McBride, Unitywater – Pipe hygiene program - 5Cs

4 17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference

Conference program continued

Wednesday 28 October

9:30AM- 4:30PM DPI Water Workshop - new recycled water guidelines (separate registration)

2.45PM-3:15PM Afternoon Tea

3:15PM- 4:45PM

STREAM: Innovative treatment solutions (Part 2) Chair: Annalisa Contos

STREAM: Risk Planning – Getting it right before it goes wrong Chair: Adam Wilson

Developing a robust approach to manganese removal in conditions of variable raw water quality (Peter Greenhalgh, Hunter H2O)

Environmental incident response - obligations and responsibilities (Samantha Daly, McCullough Robertson Lawyers)

What is UV disinfection and how does it work? (Graham Smith, Fluidquip Australia)

Inspecting service reserviors for water quality now (David Barry, Aqualift)

Water360: Tools and education resources for reuse (Don Alcock, Australian Centre for Water Recycling Excellence)

Informing risk management with insights from water information (Janice Green, Bureau Of Meteorology)

Conference Dinner6.00PM Bus leaves Ballina Beach Resort for Wharf Restaurant (en route pick up available, TBC at conference)

6.30PMConference Dinner - Wharf Restaurant (12 Fawcett St, Ballina)

Sponsored by Steel Mains

Tuesday 27 October

9:00AM-10:00AM

Chair: David Nixon

Keynote speakers

Katy Brady, Metropolitan Water Directorate - What water industry competition regulations mean for local councils including the operator of last resort provisions

Professor Scott Smith, Southern Cross University, Lismore - Importance of encouraging STEM in high schools to adequately prepare students for tertiary studies in science and engineering

10:00AM-10:30AM Morning Tea

10:30AM-12:00PM

Q&A: Regulatory reform and what it means for the water industry Chair: Annalisa Contos

This interactive panel will discuss current and emerging policy and regulatory issues for regional suppliers.

Paul Byleveld, NSW Health

Nanda Altavilla, DPI Water

Martin Puddey, Environment Protection Authority

Katy Brady, Metropolitan Water Directorate

12:00PM-1:00PM

Stream: Challenging the status quo Chair: Murray Thompson

Stream: Asset Management Chair: Ian Fairbairn

Achieving operational and capital efficiency to deliver more with less (David Zhang, Sydney Water)

Intelligent pipeline monitoring - network calming outline (James Bailey, Safe Group)

Clarence Valley Council’s challenges with recycling (Belinda Green, Aquagreen)

Aligning ageing assets with a modern maintenance strategy (Scott Agnew & Odin Hubner, Veolia)

Official Conference Close

1:00PM-1:45PM Lunch1:45PM-4:00PM Technical Tour - Ballina water recycling plant

5

Professor Scott SmithSouthern Cross University

Professor Scott Smith is Dean of Engineering and Foundation Professor of Engineering at Southern Cross University, Australia. Prior to his appointment in 2013, he held tenured positions at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Technology Sydney. Professor Smith graduated with BE(Civil) and PhD degrees from the University of New South Wales in 1994 and 1999, respectively, and he is a Fellow of Engineers Australia. His research interests encompass the repair and rehabilitation of the built environment, and he has published over 180 scholarly articles in a variety of formats.

Dr Shannon McBrideUnity Water

Dr Shannon McBride is the Water Quality Manager for Unitywater; an urban water utility in south east Queensland. She manages a small team of scientists who are responsible for both drinking and recycled water quality management working closely with both operators and planning staff. Shannon has over 30 years’ experience in water quality in both private and public sectors including 5 years in research. She has an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a PhD in microbiology. Any spare time she has she spends on the golf course.

Dr Mehreen FaruqiMLC

Dr Mehreen Faruqi joined the NSW Legislative Council in June 2013. Her portfolios include the Environment, Transport, Roads and Ports, Status of Women, Multiculturalism, Animal Welfare, Young People, Western Sydney and the Lower Mid-North Coast.

She has worked in leadership positions in local government, consulting firms and higher education institutions in Australia and internationally. This includes her role as Manager of Environment and Services for Mosman Council, Manager of Natural Resources and Catchments for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies (UNSW) and an Associate Professor in Business and Sustainability (AGSM UNSW). Her publications include a co-authored book entitled ‘Environmental Decision-making – Exploring complexity and context.’

In 2015, Mehreen was named as one of Engineers Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential Engineers.

In 2013, Mehreen received the UNSW Faculty of Engineering Award for leadership and was voted 5th in Fairfax Media Daily Life’s list of top 20 women for 2013 who made a difference and inspired Australians.

Katy BradyMetropolitan Water Directorate

Katy Brady has been a senior manager in the Metropolitan Water Directorate for more than ten years. Part of DPI Water, the Directorate is responsible for water planing in Sydney and the Lower Hunter, as well as policy development, engagement and social research.

Since 2011, Katy has played a key role in reviewing and amending the Water Industry Competition Act 2006. Other major projects have included developing the 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan, contributing to national urban water reforms, preparing submissions on pricing and competition reforms, and the refinancing of the Sydney desalination plant.

She holds legal degrees from the University of Sydney and the University of London and began her career at the Crown Solicitor’s Office. Katy has also held senior roles at the Environment Protection Authority, the NSW Cabinet Office and the Sustainable Energy Development Authority.

Keynote Speakers


Martin Puddey NSW EPA

Martin Puddey is an environmental policy specialist with almost 20 years’ experience in natural resources management and environmental protection policy. Martin has worked for the NSW EPA for the last nine years and is currently the Acting Manager of Regulatory Programs and Reform, with a key focus on developing and implementing the EPA transition to a risk based licensing system for all environmental protection licences.

Dr Paul ByleveldManaging Director, Western Water

Dr Paul Byleveld manages the New South Wales Health Water Unit, which is responsible for public health regulation and advice on drinking water, waste water management, water recycling, and recreational waters. Paul has coordinated statewide monitoring programs and helped investigate and rectify water contamination.

Paul has contributed to the development of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. Paul was responsible for leading the business case and is helping oversee implementation of the $200 million Aboriginal Communities Water Supplies and Sewerage Program.

Paul has also worked in post-conflict and natural disaster settings (including tsunami, earthquake and floods). He has worked in East Timor, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands and has established displaced persons camps, emergency water supplies and coordinated health programs.

Dr Nanda Altavilla DPI

Nanda Altavilla currently works for DPI Water as a Recycled Water Assessment Specialist. The role focusses on the approvals for recycled water schemes led by regional water utilities and policy development for recycling schemes that are proposed by the private sector, regulated under the Water Competition Act.

Her interest in the regulation of recycled water started in 2005 when she worked as a policy officer in NSW Health whilst completing a PhD in Environmental Engineering at UNSW. She continues to work in developing policy for water regulation, most recently in development of the NSW guidance on Recycled Water Management Systems and formulation of the regulations for the Water Competition Act.

Regulatory Panel Speakers

This interactive Q&A panel will discuss current and emerging policy and regulatory issues for regional suppliers.

7

About our sponsors

ATOM65 Cambourne Avenue, St Ives 2075 0414 533 369/0429 893 439 [email protected] www.atomconsulting.com.au

Atom Consulting is a specialist water engineering consultancy providing strategic and operational solutions to local and state government. Our team’s reputation is built on providing high quality regionally focussed services. We facilitate stakeholder and technical workshops, assist utilities in meeting regulatory obligations and policymakers in developing and implementing policy.

SUEZ Level 3, 3 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes, NSW 2138 Phone: 02 8759 7900 Web: www.suez.com.au

With rising population, increasing density in our cities and an unpredictable climate, we need to provide sustainable access to water and sanitation services.

SUEZ provides smart and reliable solutions to make the best use of our water resources. Our knowledge and experience spans the production of safe drinking water, seawater desalination, biosolids management, wastewater purification, recycling and re-use as well as water network management.

We partner with towns, cities, business and industry to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain water management solutions across Australia and New Zealand.

Our customers rely on us to provide seven million Australians with safe drinking water and sanitation services to more than 3.5 million Australians and 1.3 million New Zealanders.

TrilityLevel 10, 115 Grenfell St, Adelaide SA 5000 +61 8 8408 6500 [email protected] www.trility.com.au

TRILITY is an established industry leader, solely dedicated in the delivery of water, wastewater, reuse and bio-solids solutions across Australia and New Zealand’s municipal and industrial sectors. This leadership draws on more than 20 years’ experience of providing high-quality solutions for our public and private sector clients including financing, design and construction, operations and maintenance, asset management and utility services. An Australian company with the might of Mitsubishi Corporation as its major shareholder, TRILITY has a growing footprint across Australia and New Zealand. As such, our capabilities span the full life cycle of water, delivering services to millions every day.

2016 Water Innovation

Forum & Expo

10-11 March 2016 Royal Randwick Sydney

The ultimate showcase of water innovation, bringing together the utility, construction, food and beverage, and agricultural industries with technology providers, financiers and R&D.

2-day Conference + Exhibition 10-11 March, Royal Randwick Sydney

To exhibit or register visit

www.awa.asn.au/InnovationForum16

Be Excited – Share ideas on trends and the future of water innovation

Do Business – Through formal business matching meetings and networking

See it Big – Full scale exhibit of the latest in water innovation

Interactive – New theatrette surrounded by the innovators display hubs

Why attend? The Innovation Forum is a true accelerator

for innovative solutions mainly because of its format allowing proximity between exhibitors and delegates. Not many events ignite such a level of dialogue between stakeholders. Jérémy Daunay, IJINUS, Exhibitor


Steel Mains125 – 175 Patullos Lane, Somerton, Vic, 3062 + 61 3 9217 3110 [email protected] www.steelmains.com

Steel Mains is Australia’s leading manufacturer and supplier of complete steel pipeline systems for the transportation of water and wastewater, offering a total solutions approach to its customers. Throughout Australia and the rest of the world, steel pipelines have long been used in water supply, particularly where high pressures, difficult laying conditions or security of supply, have required the strength and toughness of steel.

Steel Mains and its forerunners have traditionally been at the forefront of developments in the water industry for more than 125 years of manufacturing pipelines in Australia. Over that period steel pipeline design, manufacturing processes and technology have evolved into the SINTAKOTE® steel pipeline system.

Today, Steel Mains products and services cover a range of industry needs both within Australia and globally, delivering quality, strength, durability and endurance.

2016 Water Innovation

Forum & Expo

10-11 March 2016 Royal Randwick Sydney

The ultimate showcase of water innovation, bringing together the utility, construction, food and beverage, and agricultural industries with technology providers, financiers and R&D.

2-day Conference + Exhibition 10-11 March, Royal Randwick Sydney

To exhibit or register visit

www.awa.asn.au/InnovationForum16

Be Excited – Share ideas on trends and the future of water innovation

Do Business – Through formal business matching meetings and networking

See it Big – Full scale exhibit of the latest in water innovation

Interactive – New theatrette surrounded by the innovators display hubs

Why attend? The Innovation Forum is a true accelerator

for innovative solutions mainly because of its format allowing proximity between exhibitors and delegates. Not many events ignite such a level of dialogue between stakeholders. Jérémy Daunay, IJINUS, Exhibitor

Abstracts

30 days in the life of MidCoast Water (Graeme Watkins, MidCoast Water)In the period between the 24 March and the 24 April 2015, MidCoast Water experienced one water treatment plant overdose of chlorine and the independent review of this incident; one minor fluoride overdose incident at another water treatment plant; and a major cyclonic storm event to MidCoast Water’s southern area of operations including flash flooding and significant power outages lasting a number of days.

The causes of the overdosing events will be examined including what went wrong, the emergency response and plans to improve systems to prevent overdosing in the future. The impact on water and sewerage assets, emergency response and management of the natural disaster will be described.

Incident response during the April East Coast Low Storm Event (Elissa Peattie & Karen Arkinstall, Veolia)On 20-21 April 2015 the Hunter Region experienced an East Coast Low Storm Event with very heavy rainfall and gale-force winds with gusts up to 130 km per hour. The Veolia team was confronted with its first Incident Response since the establishment of the Treatment Operations contract with Hunter Water in October 2014.

There were many successes and tasks that were done well. Incident Control Teams followed the methodology prescribed in the Incident and Emergency Management Manual and liaised with all on-call staff and contractor personnel to manage fatigue, closely tracking whereabouts and safety.

However, there were also some challenges and lessons to be learned. The biggest challenge was to maintain clear communication between all parties. Mobile phones were found to be less than ideal for communication during an event of this nature. Fatigue was an identified issue for Managers and Supervisors monitoring the plants remotely.

Overall the Incident Response was calm, structured, and well managed. The Veolia team has worked successfully with employees, contractors and the Hunter Water Corporation to ensure a safe outcome while maintaining quality service and satisfied customers.

Managing an emergency situation at the Rochester Water Treatment Plant (Greg Wood, Trility)This paper discusses the damage found, the strategy developed to return the plant to operational functionality and actions taken between Monday 17-20 January 2011.

The situationIn January 2011, following prolonged heavy rainfall, the Campaspe River flooded and the township of Rochester in northern Victoria was inundated with flood water. The entire township was under water and the Rochester Water Treatment Plant (WTP) was submerged to a level of one metre. Power to the town was out for several days. Floodwater infiltrated the entire water supply network.

What was requiredIt was imperative that as soon as possible the Rochester WTP be brought back into service to restore supply of potable water. A plan was devised to systematically restore each critical control system such that filtered water could be supplied as soon as practicable to consumers. At the same time communication with the client needed to be concise and constant due to Health Department concerns and intense media and public interest. Many electrical motors, pumps, drives and control systems were destroyed. Cubicles remained saturated for several days. It was vitally important that once power was reconnected, each system was safe to work on, and able to be restored to service. It took a huge effort and acutely timed coordination to ensure that this occurred in a safe and systematic manner.

OutcomeWater supply to the township of Rochester was restored within three days with no health effect to any staff, contractors or the public. The Rochester WTP was later fast tracked to a major upgrade that included a flood wall to surround the entire site and secure generators to supply power, even during extended power failures.


10.45-12.15 Monday 26 October

STREAM: Crisis: danger or opportunity

Abstracts

The evolving risk paradigm, quality versus quantity (Matthew Bloomfield, Hunter H2O)This paper considers drivers that the author believes have historically informed the behaviour of Water Treatment Plant (WTP) operators and managers in setting priorities, managing hazards and their associated risks. The paper considers the alignment of this learnt behaviour on the current regulatory framework and the more recent focus on microbiological hazards being brough to bare through the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011 (ADWG) and the proposed introduction of Health Based Targets (HBTs). It is suggested that historic drivers, particularly in small regional and private water supplies, are no longer sufficient to consistently allow for priorities to be set that will achieve the health benefits that are the goal of the ADWG and more specifically that are being targeted by a move to health based targets.

The risk paradigm is evolving and if change is to be effectively managed the water industry must recognise the culture that is in place and endeavour to actively manage changing this culture. In managing change it is essential to recognise that the existing paradigm can be deeply seated in the sub-conscious and may not be easily modified. In this way writing procedures and plans may not be enough to achieve the desired end result in a reasonable time frame. New drivers and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) must be set to reflect the desired regulatory focus and priorities and, more importantly, these drivers must be communicated and behaviour reinforced such that prioritisation of limited resources is in accordance with the new risk paradigm.

Implementation of a drinking water management system (Andrew Swan, Ballina Shire)Ballina Shire Council adopted its DWMS on 28 March 2013, shortly after the NSW Health Trial of DWMS development in a joint project with neighbouring LWUs. Yet, the DWMS was only considered implemented in August 2014. Why the delay? And what system changes have occurred to help improve water quality since that time?

Council has also sought to leverage synergies between its DWMS, its Recycled Water Management System (RWMS) developed as part of a Section 60 application (LGA) and Pollution Incident Repose Managements Plans (PIRMPs) required by the POEO Act. This paper reflects on three years working towards, and operating under a DWMS. The paper will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the committee approach, the system improvements Council has undergone to facilitate it and finally conclude; has it all been worth it?

Trial implementation of health-based targets (Marty Hancock, Tweed Shire)Health Based Targets for microbial safety provide quantitative definitions of safe drinking water. While the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines provide values for hazardous chemicals it does not include corresponding targets for pathogenic micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa. The Health Based Target Manual was produced by the Water Services Association of Australia and is based on the World Health Organisation target of disability-adjusted life years.

Tweed Shire Council recently participated in a trial implementation of HBTs using this manual. The manual was found to be a well structured and useful tool for assessing the pathogenic safety of drinking water and compliments the recently developed Drinking Water Management System. A number of improvements were identified that were expected and consistent with an existing improvement plan. The most significant and unexpected improvement required was the requirement for additional process steps such as UV disinfection to increase protozoan reduction.

11


STREAM: Quality: is perfect the enemy of good?

Abstracts

Automating a clarification and multimedia filtration facility in the face of highly variable feedwater turbidity (Bruce Atkinson, Hunter H2O)Municipal water treatment plants tend to rely on operator intervention to compensate for any significant changes in feedwater quality. Regular monitoring and inspection is required in any case to meet duty of care obligations. However, the requirement for plant attendance can be required to increase beyond routine hours when unusual raw water conditions prevail, for example during or after storm events. Coagulation and flocculation chemical dose rates need to be adjusted and optimised, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know, in the face of a process upset, whether the dosing is in a state of over-dose or under-dose. Similarly, such events often trigger after-hours alarms which require operators to attend site just to adjust process settings.

A coal mining operation in the Hunter Valley of NSW has recently installed a conventional water treatment plant to treat groundwater for environmental discharge to an estuarine environment. The groundwater needs to be extracted in order to dewater mining operations.

Upon commissioning of the CWP, the mine site staff immediately took it upon themselves to augment the SCADA system to control the coagulation dosing systems and automatically compensate for raw water turbidity variation. Their efforts have been successful and this paper outlines the control methodology that has been used to achieve successful automation.

Successful operation of varying treatment processes within a single operations team (Adam Medlock, Trility)The fundamental nature of water and wastewater treatment processes can usually be simplified down to running a series or biological, chemical and/or physical processes to treat incoming water or wastewater to a desired quality. We know of course that the treatment process is not as easy as this, with each unit process within each treatment facility requiring a certain amount of personal attention to operate and maintain.

Running such a site can be challenging enough for single-facility operations, but the complexity increases significantly when operational teams are required to operate and maintain multiple facilities and/or varying processes. How is the process variance between the facilities managed, and how do all operational staff remain on top of all required tasks whilst still maintaining maximum efficiency? This paper addresses these issues by looking at a case study of the water and wastewater facilities operated by TRILITY in the Riverland Region of South Australia.

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and ancillary benefits in remote villages: design, performance and operation and maintenance (Keith Bolton, Ecotech)This paper will present three case-studies of constructed wetlands treating sewage effluent in remote village i.e. Malabugilmah (in Clarence Valley), Jubullum (in Tenterfield Shire) and Orana Haven Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre (in Brewarrina Shire). The Malabugilmah wetland has been in operation for nine years and it provides secondary treatment to the village wastewater stream without the input of electrical components. Treated wastewater is disinfected prior to subsurface irrigation onto a football field. The Jubullum wetland has been operating for eight years and it treats overflow from the oxidation pond during wet periods. Treated effluent and is irrigated onto a fruit orchard after disinfection. The Orana Haven wetland has recently been constructed and is currently being commissioned. It is designed to treat effluent to a secondary level, and to enhance environmental values of the centre as a means of improving mental health of residents. Treated effluent is used to irrigate a fruit orchard. Both the Orana Haven and Malabugilmah wetland systems have been designed to optimise their landscaping values, and are located in close proximity to residences.


STREAM: Innovative treatment solutions (Part 1)


Abstracts


STREAM: Small systems, big results / Water Quality

Managing mains water quality in three remote villages with minimal treatment (Aaron Taylor, EcoTech)Ecoteam manages the water supply systems in 3 remote Aboriginal communities: Baryulgil, Malabugilmah and Jubullum. Baryulgil sources water from bores and the other 2 villages rely on river extraction. Water treatment is minimal, and includes basic filtration and disinfection. This paper will compare source water qualities of the three communities and discuss operation and maintenance challenges. This paper will present the outcome of 5 years of water quality monitoring results focusing on E. coli, turbidity, Cl, pH and hardness.

Adelaide River WTP upgrade: commissioning of the first iron and manganese biological treatment plant (Veronique Bonnelye, SUEZ)Adelaide River, rural community located 110 km south of Darwin, draws its drinking water from a number of bores that typically contain elevated and variable concentration of iron and manganese.

The Adelaide River Water Treatment Plant is operated by Power and Water Corporation and has historically consisted of a disinfection followed by storage and transfer to the distribution network.

In 2015, the plant was upgraded with the commissioning of the first iron and manganese biological treatment systems in Australia. The new iron and manganese treatment processes were selected for their capability to be inserted within the existing system, for the treatment flexibility and low operation and maintenance requirements.

Orange water treatment plant filter upgrade - to the heart of the matter (Jon Francis, Orange City Council)The eight filters at Orange City Council’s Icely Road Water Filtration Plant have been upgraded with replacement of all filter media and backwash nozzles. A focus on the basics coupled with significant operator ownership has improved the health of our water treatment process with consistent turbidity results below 0.1 NTUs. Non-tangible benefits such as personal and team growth, and improved drinking water management system awareness have also been realised.

13

Automating a clarification and multimedia filtration facility in the face of highly variable feedwater turbidity (Bruce Atkinson, Hunter H2O)Municipal water treatment plants tend to rely on operator intervention to compensate for any significant changes in feedwater quality. Regular monitoring and inspection is required in any case to meet duty of care obligations. However, the requirement for plant attendance can be required to increase beyond routine hours when unusual raw water conditions prevail, for example during or after storm events. Coagulation and flocculation chemical dose rates need to be adjusted and optimised, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know, in the face of a process upset, whether the dosing is in a state of over-dose or under-dose. Similarly, such events often trigger after-hours alarms which require operators to attend site just to adjust process settings.

A coal mining operation in the Hunter Valley of NSW has recently installed a conventional water treatment plant to treat groundwater for environmental discharge to an estuarine environment. The groundwater needs to be extracted in order to dewater mining operations.

Upon commissioning of the CWP, the mine site staff immediately took it upon themselves to augment the SCADA system to control the coagulation dosing systems and automatically compensate for raw water turbidity variation. Their efforts have been successful and this paper outlines the control methodology that has been used to achieve successful automation.

Successful operation of varying treatment processes within a single operations team (Adam Medlock, Trility)The fundamental nature of water and wastewater treatment processes can usually be simplified down to running a series or biological, chemical and/or physical processes to treat incoming water or wastewater to a desired quality. We know of course that the treatment process is not as easy as this, with each unit process within each treatment facility requiring a certain amount of personal attention to operate and maintain.

Running such a site can be challenging enough for single-facility operations, but the complexity increases significantly when operational teams are required to operate and maintain multiple facilities and/or varying processes. How is the process variance between the facilities managed, and how do all operational staff remain on top of all required tasks whilst still maintaining maximum efficiency? This paper addresses these issues by looking at a case study of the water and wastewater facilities operated by TRILITY in the Riverland Region of South Australia.

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and ancillary benefits in remote villages: design, performance and operation and maintenance (Keith Bolton, Ecotech)This paper will present three case-studies of constructed wetlands treating sewage effluent in remote village i.e. Malabugilmah (in Clarence Valley), Jubullum (in Tenterfield Shire) and Orana Haven Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre (in Brewarrina Shire). The Malabugilmah wetland has been in operation for nine years and it provides secondary treatment to the village wastewater stream without the input of electrical components. Treated wastewater is disinfected prior to subsurface irrigation onto a football field. The Jubullum wetland has been operating for eight years and it treats overflow from the oxidation pond during wet periods. Treated effluent and is irrigated onto a fruit orchard after disinfection. The Orana Haven wetland has recently been constructed and is currently being commissioned. It is designed to treat effluent to a secondary level, and to enhance environmental values of the centre as a means of improving mental health of residents. Treated effluent is used to irrigate a fruit orchard. Both the Orana Haven and Malabugilmah wetland systems have been designed to optimise their landscaping values, and are located in close proximity to residences.

Abstracts




Developing a robust approach to manganese removal in conditions of variable raw water quality (Peter Greenhalgh, Hunter H2O) Tamworth Regional Council’s (TRC) Barraba Water Treatment Plant (WTP) recently adopted a new raw water source in order to improve drought security. Following this change, the aesthetics of the treated water quality periodically deteriorated to the extent that it did not meet the stringent treated water quality requirements imparted by TRC.

Investigations conducted by Hunter H2O (HH2O) identified that the existing manganese removal strategy, involving KMnO4 dosing, was being adversely affected by: a low raw water dissolved oxygen concentration; interactions with Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) dosing; and highly variable raw water quality. Furthermore, it was theorised that the presence of organically complexed manganese may be responsible for further reducing overall manganese removal performance.

HH2O developed a strategy for improving manganese removal, through optimisation of the KMnO4 and PAC dosing strategy, and aeration of the raw water. The impact of variable raw water quality on the overall manganese removal strategy was catered for through implementation of a multibarrier approach, which incorporated an Induced Coated Media process in addition to KMnO4 dosing. This process has proven to be robust and cost efficient whilst meeting the treated water quality requirements.

This paper presents the methodology used in determining the cause of the water quality issues, as well as the design, automation control and operational approach applied in improving water quality. The paper also outlines key findings that apply not only to Barraba WTP, but also to other WTPs which experience manganese-related challenges.

What is UV disinfection and how does it work? (Graham Smith, Fluidquip Australia)Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is being used increasingly to provide an additional barrier to the passage of pathogens in both water and wastewater treatment plants. While chlorine has been the disinfectant of choice since the early 1900s, the recognition of the protozoan pathogens Cryptosporidium and Giardia as possible contaminants of both water and wastewater has rewritten the rule books. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are not controlled by chlorine at the doses that are typically able to be used in the water industry. They are, however, killed efficiently by UV; however, UV systems have to be carefully specified to ensure the final barrier is effective. Put simply, there needs to be enough UV energy to kill the “bugs”. There is a confusing array of terms and advertising blurb, so this article is about trying to explain them and allow water utilities to be better informed when considering installation of UV systems.

Water360: Tools and Education Resources for Reuse (Don Alcock, Australian Centre for Water Recycling Excellence)Water360: Resources for Reuse examines issues around potable reuse and demonstrates that it can be a sustainable, cost effective option. Water360 has an extensive range of online case studies, community engagement guides, education tools, planning resources, expert testimonials, technical reports, videos and animations, to help communities consider potable reuse as part of their water supply and security planning. The resources are based on work from an international research partnership led by the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence and UNSW.

Abstracts

15



Environmental incident response – obligations and responsibilities (Samantha Daly, McCullough Robertson Lawyers)If an environmental incident occurs on a site it is essential that people know their immediate responsibilities in responding to that incident, including reporting obligations. The investigation powers of regulatory authorities are broad and maximum penalties under the pollution law in NSW are significant and so it is critical that incidents are dealt with appropriately and in accordance with the legal requirements.

This presentation will provide an overview of the responsibilities of occupiers, employers, employees and persons carrying on activities should an environmental incident occur with a particular focus on the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). In particular the presentation will discuss:

1. actions that should be taken immediately should an environmental incident occur;

2. the obligations to report an incident to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and other regulatory authorities;

3. the role of the pollution incident response plan – what are these plans and what is required should an incident occur;

4. the investigation process and the powers of Council and/or the EPA in investigating an incident;

5. options available to the regulator following an incident, including a brief discussion of the prosecution process.

The above topics will be discussed in the context of a number of ‘real life’ case studies to provide delegates with an understanding of how the law is applied in practice. The presentation will also examine some recent decisions of the Land and Environment Court and the consequences of these decisions in clarifying the roles and responsibilities of occupiers and persons carrying on activities should an incident occur.

Inspecting service reservoirs for water quality now (David Barry, Aqualift)Water quality within service reservoirs is now being given more consideration when conducting inspection programs. NSW Department of Primary Industry Office of Water (DPI Water) have issued a protocol (Circular No. LWU 18), which acknowledges the three barriers required for drinking water to be suitable for safe consumption.

1. Effective disinfection to kill, inactivate or remove pathogens in the water supply.

2. Ensure distribution integrity to prevent contamination.

3. Maintain free chlorine residual in the water distribution system to protect against minor contamination and to indicate potential breaches in distribution system integrity.

The initiatives commenced in NSW deserve to be expanded into the other States, so that all consumers can have confidence in the drinking water they have been told they can trust. Inspections based on the DPI Water requirements focus on entry hatches, platform areas, roof structures and ventilation systems to ensure effective barriers are in place to prevent contaminates such as faecal material, vermin and debris entering into our water supplies.

Informing risk management with insights from water information (Janice Green, Bureau of Meterology)Risk based design and management has long been recognised as best practice across many sectors. Accordingly, Australia’s water sector has broadly adopted it as the basis for design, construction, management, operation and maintenance practices. Understanding and quantifying risks centred around impacts on human health and broader social issues, as well as economic and environmental impacts are at the core of the sectors operation.

Improving our understanding of these risks, including their likelihood, offers opportunities to improve service delivery, reduce costs and support innovation. Fundamental to the sectors ability to categorise and understand risk is the need for high quality data and information to underpin analysis and decision making processes.

Together with the Bureau’s more traditional weather and climate data services and forecasts the availability of these products means that the information needed to understand and inform risk based management practices is readily available to decision makers. This paper considers how delivering transparent, independent, standardised and authoritative information products can inform and assist the sector in its understanding and evaluation of risk.

Abstracts



Stream: Risk Planning – Getting it right before it goes wrong

Achieving operational and capital efficiency to deliver more with less (David Zhang, Sydney Water)The water industry is a capital intensive industry. In the past decade, water utilities across Australia invested billions of dollars to address water security issue by building desalination plants. Currently Australian water industry is experiencing an apparent shift from a capital investment focus to improve operational and capital efficiency.

Asset management practitioners in today’s water industry are facing the unprecedented challenges to balance cost, service and risk. To be able to improve efficiency and deliver more with less, we must improve our asset management practice and capability, think of new and better ways of doing things, and address these challenges through applying asset management principles.

This paper presents a case study in two parts to demonstrate how Sydney Water improves its water network management strategy to achieve its operational and capital efficiency through applying fundamental asset management principles.

Clarence Valley Council’s challenges with recycling (Belinda Green, Aquagreen)Over the past decade, Clarence Valley Council has had to face some major wastewater management issues at its North Grafton STP (trickle filter STP), including: capacity of the wastewater system to handle current and future loadings; ageing sewerage infrastructure; and the impact of effluent discharges on river quality. Council’s adopted strategy was to develop a new reuse enterprise for North Grafton, consisting of a combination of agricultural and controlled open space irrigation. In 2005, a concept study confirmed that with the addition of UV disinfection, and some minor augmentations, the effluent quality would meet the required standards for reuse.

In 2015, Clarence Valley Council commissioned the development of a Recycled Water Management System, including detailed verification testing, to gain approval to expand the reuse scheme for the North Grafton STP. Detailed verification testing was undertaken, throughout the system and at the end point user at the Grafton Greyhound Track, with a focus on monitoring health based targets (i.e. bacteria, virus and protozoa removal). Verification testing has established that the recycled water is unable to meet the 2006 guidelines, with the existing treatment and operational controls in place.

This paper will provide an overview of the verification testing requirements, the areas where this system is unable to meet the guidelines and provide some discussion on the difficult decisions that Clarence Valley Council, and many other Councils, with be faced with in the current regulatory environment.

Abstracts

17

12.00-1.00 Tuesday 27 October

Stream: Challenging the status quo

Abstracts

Intelligent pipeline monitoring - network calming outline (James Bailey, Safegroup)Sophisticated smart water technologies are changing the way water networks are monitored and controlled. A “Smart Water Network” is a fully integrated set of data-driven components and solutions which allow water utilities to optimize all aspects of their water distribution systems.

To date a key focus of supply network resilience has been leak detection through basic logging, acoustic surveys and “walking the line” detection. It is increasingly acknowledged, however, that whilst one utility’s hand is leak hunting, the other is often found inadvertently exacerbating the leak and burst occurrence through actions elsewhere on the network. The result is diminishing efficacy in terms of traditional leak reduction methods and difficulties in obtaining further NRW reductions.

This presentation will provide case studies from the USA and UK of high resolution pressure loggers being used to identify precisely the causes of damaging, and previously undetected, transient activities and the benefits obtained from the remedial work consequently undertaken. From there a review will be provided of the scope for next generation logging transforming utilities’ ability to calm their networks and in turn reduce not just bursts and leaks but operating costs as well.

Aligning ageing assets with a modern maintenance strategy (Scott Agnew & Odin Hubner, Veolia)Water treatment plants in current times often comprise a mix of old and new assets. Many plants have been through upgrades that address forecast population growth ensuring that the services are adequate. The maintenance philosophy for these assets is often made up the same way, a melding of the recommendations from original equipment, replacement and new asset suppliers. The difficulty in this for both engineers and maintenance technicians alike is that they are often maintaining similar equipment differently, resulting in inconsistencies in practices and reliability. This paper explores implementing a single maintenance attitude aligning maintenance practices across all assets


12.00-1.00 Tuesday 27 October

Stream: Asset Management

SINTAKOTE® STEEL PIPELINE SYSTEMSWWW.STEELMAINS.COM / AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER WATER PIPELINE SYSTEM

19

SINTAKOTE® STEEL PIPELINE SYSTEMSWWW.STEELMAINS.COM / AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER WATER PIPELINE SYSTEM

Trade Exhibitors

Prominent Fluid Controls Pty LtdMr Greg Cashman,Sales Engineer [email protected] 02 9450 0995

www.prominentfluid.com.au

ProMinent Fluid Controls Pty Ltd has been servicing the Water Treatment Industry in Australia since 1976.

The main focus of the business is the manufacture, supply, installation and servicing of Chemical Metering Equipment and Water Treatment Systems. ProMinent offers a comprehensive range of Digital solenoid driven and motor driven metering pumps and water quality instrumentation.

SAFEgroup Automation Pty LtdMr Aaron Christie,General Manager [email protected] 02 4933 9946

www.safegroup.com.au

With offices in Newcastle, Melbourne and Brisbane SAFEGroup Automation are suppliers of premium SCADA, telemetry and automation engineering services. Specialist products and services include:

- SCADA, telemetry and PLC

- Specialist ClearSCADA tools

- Historian and business intelligence systems

- Intelligent pipeline monitoring

- Data logging solutions

Total Flow Control Pty LtdMr Andrew Parker, Director [email protected] 02 4955 5235

www.totalflow.com.au

Supplier of Industrial Isolation & Control Valves, Actuators and Control Products - Including SINGER - Automatic Control Valves for Pressure Flow & Level Control, Cavitation Control Valves, Electronic Control Valves, Surge Control Valves, HENRY PRATT - Plug, Butterfly, Check & Knife Gate Valves, Rotork Actuators

Royce Water TechnologiesMr Rodney Wellings, Director [email protected] 0428571234

www.roycewater.com.au

Australian owned company with instrumentation and processes improve the quality of effluent or drinking water while save operational costs.

PCA echologicsMr David Brady, Client Manager ANZ [email protected] 02 88543740

www.pcaechologics.com

Echologics is a business with extensive experience in water and sewage leak detection and pipeline condition assessment, having condition assessed and leak detected pipelines totalling over 4,500km and 5,000km respectively. Advanced signal processing and acoustics sensor design enables Echologics’ technologies to detect leaks in the widest range of PVC, PE, AC, DICL and MSCL pipes.

Bureau of MeteorologyMs Janice Green, Manager, Water Accounting and Regulations [email protected] (02) 6232 3558

www.bom.gov.au

Bureau of Meteorology Water Information Program

The Bureau has responsibility for compiling and disseminating comprehensive water information across Australia. The Bureau has developed a comprehensive suite of water information products and services to underpin water management decisions. These products and services are integrated, nationally consistent and freely available to water managers, policymakers and key decision-makers around Australia for use in their planning and decision-making.

Open 20 November – Close 15 January 2016

Announced at the NSW Heads of Water and Awards Night on Friday 11 March at Royal Randwick, Sydney

Organisational Company categories:• Undergraduate Water Prize • Infrastructure Innovation Award• Program Innovation Award• Research Innovation Award

Individual categories:• Water Professional of the Year• Young Water Professional of the Year

State based award• NSW Kamal Fernando Mentoring Award

Apply online at

www.awa.asn.au/NSWAwards

Documents

17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference€¦ · maintain and manage our water cycle whilst meeting the ... 5Cs 4 17th NSW Engineers & Operators Regional Conference