Joint Venture Comprising CH2M HILL And Thiess Selected To Construct Western Australia's First Full-Scale Groundwater Replenishment Plant

Project will help secure Perth’s drinking water supplies through 2060

Western Australia’s Water Corporation recently awarded CH2M HILL, as part of a joint venture with Thiess, a contract to design, construct, and commission a full-scale Advanced Water Replenishment Plant (AWRP) in Perth. The plant is the first wastewater recycling project of its type in Australia and is a major step in progressing the Water Corporation’s strategy for climate resiliency.

“With Australia’s dry climate, groundwater replenishment provides a secure, rainfall independent water source and will be an integral part of northern Perth’s future water security,” said Chris Morris, CH2M HILL Australia and New Zealand Geography Manager.

Construction on the first stage of the plant will begin later this month. The plant, which will inject highly treated wastewater into Perth’s unground aquifers, will have an initial capacity of 14 billion liters—double the project’s original capacity, with an option to expand to 28 billion liters in the future.

The Water Corporation undertook a complex Groundwater Replenishment Trial (GRT) from 2010-2012 at the Beenyup wastewater treatment plant site to assess the technical and social feasibility of constructing such an advanced wastewater recycling plant for producing water that is suitable for replenishing groundwater. The Trial, which involved treating approximately 3.5 billion liters of treated effluent from Beenyup using ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection and storing the water in an underground aquifer where it can be further filtered by natural processes, was successful.

“The success of the GRT demonstrated the effectiveness of using advanced technologies and innovative solutions to treat water so it is suitable to replenish groundwater supplies,” continued Morris. “We are delighted to tackle this advanced, complex project with our JV partner and the Water Corporation, helping secure Western Australia’s safe, reliable water supply for years to come.”

The new AWRP will be built on the same site as the Trial, in Craigie. Construction of the project is expected to be in commissioning by October 2016. When commissioned, the plant will help Perth meet its future drinking water needs through 2060. For more details of this innovative scheme, refer to the following link: http://www.watercorporation.com.au/gwr.

About CH2M HILL
Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environment, nuclear, energy, facilities and urban environments. With US$6.6 billion in revenue and 26,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record and named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix. The firm was named Water Company of the Year at the 2012 Global Water Awards. For more information, visit ch2mhill.com. And www.ch2mhillblogs.com/water.