CH2M Hill water-reuse plant project earns international award
19 Sep 2011
Denver, Colorado — CH2M HILL has been awarded the 2011 WateReuse International Award from the WateReuse Association for the Luggage Point Advanced Water Treatment Plant Project (AWTP) in Australia.
The project was in response to unprecedented population growth in Brisbane and South East Queensland, combined with a prolonged drought from 2002 to 2008, which created an acute shortage of water in the region.
The Queensland government implemented the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project, an AU$2.5-billion scheme that includes three advanced water treatment plants and over 200 kilometres of pipeline.
The Luggage Point AWTP, a major part of this scheme, purifies secondary effluent from the adjacent wastewater treatment plant to a level that complies with drinking quality standards to augment the City of Brisbane’s largest potable water source, Lake Wivenhoe — when required — and to provide high-quality water to two power plants and other customers.
The project “drought-proofs Brisbane’s water supply for the foreseeable future,” commented Larry Schimmoller, CH2M HILL’s global technology leader of water reuse.
The Luggage Point Alliance (LPA) – consisting of governmental agency Seqwater, joint venture partners CH2M HILL and Laing O’Rourke, and sub-alliance partners Aurecon (formerly Connell Wagner) and Hatch – designed, procured, installed, commissioned, and operated the Luggage Point AWTP.
The 18.5-million gallons/day plant uses a multi-barrier treatment train that includes chemical precipitation, microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet disinfection/advanced oxidation. In addition to delivering water in less than 2 years, the plant also developed numerous technical innovations to produce water that complies with drinking water standards.
The plant is highly automated and efficient, and it significantly reduces the pollutant load to the receiving water. Final completion of the Luggage Point AWTP was achieved by the LPA in June 2011 with official handover to the owner for future operations.
With $6.3 billion in revenue and 23,000 employees, CH2M HILL, based near Denver, is a programme management, construction management and design firm in the areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy, facilities and resources.
