Automation and centralisation of water treatment plant

The client wished to raise the current level of automation, reduce the need for operator intervention on site, allow remote monitoring and operator control, and enhance site security. GHD’s involvement on this AUD$34 million project included preliminary and engineering design, followed by detailed design and construction phase services as part of the A+C’tion Alliance (GHD, Water Corporation and Leicon Notley ).

The project included the automation and centralised control of five metropolitan water treatment plants (WTPs), two regional water treatment plants and numerous minor sites (such as chlorinators and bores). There were challenges as the age of the treatment plants varied and the requirements at each site needed to be tailored to account for site variations.

The client identified reliability and availability as the main factors that needed to be taken into account in project designs. The alliance structure enabled these design requirements to be met through efficiency, flexibility and the use of modern technology.

The project included:

• WTP automation
• WAN SCADA system
• Radio telemetry control for borefields
• Site audits and assessments
• Determining the requirements for the main control centre
• Standby ISDN connections with emergency backup wireless links
• Implementation and integration of modern technologies – industrial ethernet, profibus and redundant ring fibre optics
• Instrumentation, control, electrical, mechanical, security and chemical dosing systems were upgraded

The A+C’tion Alliance has completed the first of three stages on the project on time, on budget and in alignment with the client’s requirements. Documentation delivery has been fast tracked and documents such as operations manuals have been delivered months in advance of industry norms. The Alliance structure has enabled a flexible and innovative approach that has resulted in significant design efficiencies.