ACWA Does It Again with Another Hi-Tech, Low Carbon Solution for Center Parcs

ACWA (UK) has won a prestigious contract to upgrade the environmentally friendly wastewater treatment (WWT) system at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire.

The new project follows hard on the heels of an earlier contract in which ACWA has undertaken the design, construction and commissioning of a WWT facility at Center Parcs’ new Village, Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire. The project at Sherwood Forest will be divided into three phrases, each of which will involve demolishing redundant systems, constructing replacement solutions, then testing and commissioning key plant. It is critical that the existing plant remains operational at all times.

Center Parcs Sherwood Forest opened in July 1987 and was the first Center Parcs Village to open in the UK. Each Center Parcs Village is situated in around 400 acres of natural woodland within an enhanced and protected forest environment.

The finished process will include flow balancing, anoxic, aeration and membrane bioreactor (MBR) tanks and all associated ancillary systems. The first phase of the work involved the design and installation of inlet screens and is already complete.

Just as with Woburn Forest, the heart of the system at Sherwood Forest will be an ACWA Memtreat membrane bioreactor. This is an advanced, compact treatment process that provides a high quality effluent without requiring any additional primary or secondary clarification or tertiary treatment, and produces less sludge than conventional secondary treatment processes.

The treated wastewater, which is filtered through membranes during the process, is crystal clear and suitable for reuse in irrigation or harm-free discharge into the environment.

Once the modifications have been completed, the plant will be able to treat up to 1200m3/day of wastewater from the restaurants, accommodation, the Subtropical Swimming Paradise and retails outlets. Programmed completion date for the work is August 2015.

Center Parcs aims to be one of the leading sustainable ‘large-scale tourism destinations’ in the UK, a commitment that encompasses minimising all waste and ensuring each site has the least environmental impact possible.

ACWA’s UK General Manager, Peter Brewer said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with Center Parcs again, on another important contract that supports their vision of sustainable infrastructure for all its sites, and ensuring nature is at the heart of all its activities.

Our solution has been carefully designed to fit well with Center Parcs’ approach, which calls for low carbon, low-energy solutions that provide future resilience and environmental benefits.”

www.acwa.co.uk