Project: Avon Valley Project
Client: Water Corporation
Location: Northam, WA
Restoring Essential Water Infrastructure
The Avon Valley, encompassing towns such as Northam, New Norcia, Toodyay, and York, is home to several unique communities that experience steady growth over the past decade. With a growing population and its status as an emerging tourist destination, the town’s wastewater treatment plant required servicing.
Although the plant had been dredged recently by another company, approximately 900mm of sludge still needed to be removed. APEX Envirocare secured the tender to restore the capacity of the reticulation pond by dredging 35,280m³. This pond, along with other primary ponds, formed a single system crucial to the town’s wastewater management program, an essential part of the town’s infrastructure.
To tackle the challenge of restoring the capacity of a large reticulation pond containing over 35,000 cubic metres of alum-dosed sludge, the APEX Envirocare team proposed a comprehensive approach, utilising the Mud Cat 40E dredge, capable of desludging the pond and restoring it to its full capacity.
The sludge in the pond, high in aluminium sulphate, was particularly difficult to separate due to its dense and sticky nature, complicating the removal process. Our approach involved specialist dredge equipment with advanced features designed to handle such challenging conditions.
Engineered to manage high-density sludge and optimise its separation from water and sediment, the team of expert operators ensures the dredge optimally using powerful suction capabilities and precision control mechanisms, to deliver efficient sludge collection and minimisation of residual waste.
The innovative sediment removal process effectively managed the high-density alum-dosed sludge, significantly restoring the pond’s capacity. Early results indicated that the expert teams operating the custom-designed dredge performed exceptionally well, with efficient sludge separation and minimal residual waste.
The benefits of this approach included improved operational efficiency, reduced downtime, and enhanced water quality in the pond. Overall, the successful application of this advanced dredging technology by the Apex team met the project’s goals, demonstrating its effectiveness in handling challenging sludge conditions and delivering exceptional results.
