Queensland Sewage Treatment Plant to Double Daily Wastewater Treatment Capacity

GE’s (USA) high-performance LEAPmbr membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater-treatment technology will be the centerpiece of an upgrade to Unitywater’s Maleny sewage treatment plant in Queensland, Australia, and is expected to allow the plant to double the amount of water treated per day to one million litres.

New environmental regulations and expected population growth led Unitywater to expand the existing sewage treatment plant in Maleny. The LEAPmbr technology will assist Unitywater to meet environmental guidelines for safe, high-quality water in a recreational area, which also is upstream of a water supply catchment.

Maleny’s ecotourism and recreational activities on the Obi Obi Creek and the Mary Cairncross reserve conservation park make it a popular destination for locals and tourists alike.

“By upgrading our plant, we’ll be able to treat more wastewater to meet the needs of a growing population, whilst also meeting stringent environmental regulations and minimising costs,” said Simon Taylor, executive manager, infrastructure planning and capital delivery, Unitywater.

GE will provide the technology to Monadelphous, the Australian engineering, construction, maintenance and industrial services company that will upgrade the plant.

“Unitywater’s upgraded Maleny plant will use an innovative solution of LEAPmbr technology and ZeeWeed 500 membranes to increase treatment capacity in a compact footprint. The added wastewater treatment capacity will help Maleny keep up with the tourist region’s expected population growth over the next decade,” said Ish Hakim, Australia New Zealand sales manager, GE Power & Water.

GE’s LEAPmbr technology helps councils and industrial wastewater treatment facilities around the world address their pressing water quality issues while increasing overall productivity of the treatment system. Specifically, GE will provide LEAPmbr and ZeeWeed 500D MBR technology, including modules, cassettes, blowers, permeate pumps and turbidity meters to Unitywater. The facility is expected to begin operation at the end of 2013