Municipal Profile Unitywater
Unitywater operates in one of the fastest growing regions of Australia, providing essential sewerage and water supply services for three council regions that are home to approximately 16% of Queensland’s population.
With the population of the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and Noosa regions projected to grow from approximately 795,735 people in 2016 to 1.18 million in 2036, Unitywater is planning to meet the future needs of the region in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.
Their investment will cater for population growth and ensure their infrastructure meets strict standards for our unique and delicate environment.
They will continue to upgrade and invest in sewerage and water supply infrastructure in ways that keep us at the forefront of environmental practices and meet the challenges of climate change.
The Unitywater Water & Sewer Network
- Approximately 368,885customer accounts
- 5223km2 geographical area serviced
- 601km sewerage mains
- 800 sewage pump stations
- 17 sewage treatment plants
- 343,532 water connections
- 6290km water mains
- 70 water pump stations
- 103 water reservoirs
- 11 sewage treatment plants producing recycled water
- 704 team members
The Case Study
The System Requirements Approximately two years ago Unitywater realized that a new Odour Control Filter would be required at this Wastewater Pump Station based on the high levels of odour being experienced by the neighbours living adjacent to the site and deterioration of other infrastructure.
After a full consultation process with Unitywater which included considering the Flow Dynamics through the station and the levels of H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) plus VOC and Mercaptan issues we were dealing with onsite it was determined the existing filter would need to be decommissioned.
McBerns Pty Ltd as a trusted company within the sewer and wastewater industry for 31 years, with a unique odour treatment system that maximises the efficiency and effectiveness of the filter in comparison to standard filtration techniques, were chosen to establish a Scope of Works to supply an alternative filter to Unitywater which would provide a renewed odour control system for the Pump Station.
The odour treatment resulted in 99% clean air to atmosphere at the filter outlet..
Three (3) key criteria which led to the McBerns Odour Control Filter being favoured were:
- Overall, the system works efficiently in using a mix media which includes using impregnated carbon (KOH) as an initial treatment, due to the high treatment
capacity and the preferential treatment of hydrogen sulphide. - The proprietary combined media allows for the treatment of the residual hydrogen sulphide, mercaptans, and other VOC’s, due to the redox reactions being instantaneous and effective for all odour producing compounds.
- The requirement for 24/7 emissions monitoring, i.e., the pump stations monitoring would continue to operate effectively and reliably in the event of communications or SCADA failure.
- Analogue Signals provide H2S analyser status to the Unitywater RTU and in turn to their SCADA system. The H2S analysers(PPM on the inlet/PPB on the outlet) as loggers would also work autonomously if the DC supply was lost to the analysers or the RTU/SCADA was not operational.
A number of teams at Unitywater worked together, including operations, electrical, maintenance, engineering and management to conduct an expression of interest process.Unitywater entered into a development partnership with McBerns to develop a solution that would work at this site.