Global Water Award 2019 for Nereda technology at wwtp Utrecht, the Netherlands
The Nereda team of Royal HaskoningDHV won the category ‘Wastewater Project of the Year’ of the prestigious Global Water Awards 2019. The price was awarded for a new Nereda plant that is currently under construction at waste water treatment plant Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Global Water Awards 2019 ceremony took place in London on 9 April.
Ongoing operational support
Contractor Heijmans-GMB and the client, regional water authority De Stichtse Rijnlanden, are working together with Royal HaskoningDHV, the developers of the Nereda technology. The contract includes design, construction, commissioning and maintenance of the plant for 10 years, with ongoing operational support.
The large wastewater treatment plant (see top photo) in Utrecht, the Netherlands was budgeted at 120 million euro and brings improved wastewater treatment to approximately 430,000 customers.
Important features of the new Nereda plant are the exceptional small footprint, the 30% energy efficiency improvement and the strict effluent requirements for nutrients (N total: 5 mg/l and P total: 0.5 mg/l).
Growing urbanisation
Commenting on the award announcement, René Noppeney, Global Director of Water Technology Products & Innovation at Royal HaskoningDHV said to be delighted to have won the award.
"Our Nereda technology is an established game-changer for sustainable wastewater technology. We now have over 65 Nereda projects completed or being delivered across the world", Noppeney commented. "It offers the perfect solution for countries facing growing urbanisation and improved environmental protection".
Rebuilding on existing site
Construction work to rebuild the current obsolete wwtp Utrecht that was built in 1959, commenced in 2017. Due to the location of Utrecht’s sewer system, it was decided to build the new installation on the existing site. Owing to its compact nature, it was possible to construct it alongside the existing plant. The new wastewater treatment plant removes twice as much nitrogen and phosphate from the water. The purification process of the plant is much faster, so as well as being 30% more energy efficient compared to the original plant, it is also considerably smaller.
With no need for large post-settling tanks, a great deal of space has been saved. The original plant had 14 sedimentation tanks in use, which have been replaced by just six Nereda tanks.
The old plant was removed from service once the new plant had been commissioned. The project is now completed and the 10-year maintenance period has commenced.
