New Waikato Water Treatment Facility

As part of a Design Build consortium, CH2M Beca won the contract to build the new $100 million water supply to Auckland for Watercare Services Ltd. Not only was CH2M Beca the sole designer for the project, but our team also provided construction support, commissioning/testing and operational support for a period of two years following completion.

The contract involved the construction of the river intake, raw water pump station/pipeline, advanced water treatment plant, 3MW highlift pump station and a 37km pipeline sized to deliver 150,000m3/day of treated water from the Waikato River. Treatment capacity was staged to optimise CAPEX and take advantages of advances in technology.

• A high level of public health protection is provided for using Zeeweed® membrane ultrafiltration technology as the core treatment process
• High rate 'superpulsator' clarifiers reduce the solids loading on the membrane plant
• GAC adsorbers further polish the treated water
• Dedicated chlorine contact tanks ensure virus inactivation
• Lime and CO2 are added to reduce corrosivity
• Onsite hypochlorite generators improve safety and reduce operational costs
• The advanced control system enables the plant to be monitored and controlled from Watercare's central control room via a fibre-optic and microwave link.

Watercare takes great pride in their new facility, which on completion, was one of the most sophisticated treatment facilities and the most significant water supply project in over a decade in New Zealand, and the largest membrane facility in the country.

Client: Watercare Services Ltd.