As more people move away from the city and into suburbs, there is a growing demand for wastewater treatment plants. It is essential for suburbs that are looking to be self-sufficient, especially since water sources in Australia are fast drying up. Wastewater treatment plants go a long way in ensuring residents in the suburbs have access to quality clean water. However, contractors must consider various factors when designing a wastewater treatment plan if the objective is to build a system that functions excellently. This article looks at these factors in detail and how they are essential to a growing suburb.
Provision for Future Expansion
One of the first considerations a designer must keep in mind when designing wastewater treatment plans is to leave room for future expansions. The reason is that as suburbs grow, the existing plants experience unprecedented pressure. If the constraint is not taken care of, the chances of malfunctions increase considerably. Therefore, keep in mind that the population of a growing suburb will only demand more from the wastewater plant when creating a wastewater design. Make sure you include provisions to accommodate future expansion. It will prevent significant disruption to plant operations when it is time to increase capacity or build parallel facilities. For example, the space inside a wastewater treatment plant should provide for the replacement of equipment such as pumps and blowers.
Providing Off-Line Storage
When designing a wastewater treatment plant, it is essential to understand that it will, at some time, develop problems. Therefore, the plant should be designed in a manner that allows for repairs to be conducted without disrupting the flow of effluent from the house. The only way to achieve this is by using off-line storage in the collection system. The chamber holds all effluent coming into the wastewater treatment plant during repairs. Although off-line storage is more expensive — attributed to the parallel sewer lines — than an online one, the investment is justified if you consider the adverse effects of shutting down online storage during system repairs.
Adequacy of Isolation
How isolated is a site from residential areas, and what is the land primarily used for? These are critical considerations when designing wastewater treatment plants because the last thing you want is to design a plant that is close to residential buildings. If you ignore this aspect, then residents will continually complain of air pollution. Moreover, wastewater treatment plants that are close to residential areas use more power since the systems don't make use of gravity. Most importantly, wastewater treatment plants built far from human activity are easier to maintain and operate.
