Scottish Water deploys Nereda for optimised wastewater treatment

The challenge: How to treat the wastewater of a growing community

The Scottish town of Winchburgh lies within commuting distance of Edinburgh and in 2005 planning was approved for a development of 3,900 new homes. However, the town’s existing trickle-bed plant would be unable to treat such a large increase in wastewater.

Due to the original plant’s location – between a stream and a railway line – it wasn’t feasible to expand the biofiltration system enough to satisfy demand while still meeting the stringent effluent quality required for Scottish Water’s permits.

As a result, Scottish Water decided that building a new plant with more efficient technology was the only way to meet the needs of the people of Winchburgh and the surrounding environment.

The solution: A new treatment plant with Nereda at its core

Scottish Water and Royal HaskoningDHV had previously worked together on an award-winning Nereda treatment plant in Inverurie, and the partners were keen to build on that success at Winchburgh.

Nereda’s fast-settling, granular sludge is proven to meet challenging effluent quality targets, with little or no chemical dosing. And, crucially, the unique Nereda technology requires less land space and consumes less power, reducing its carbon footprint – two reasons it was implemented by Scottish Water.

EPS, the Nereda licence holder in Scotland, was engaged by ESD, Scottish Water’s main contractor, to complete the detail design and build of the Nereda System. The flexible nature of Nereda allowed the design team to design tanks as modular components for on-site assembly and use stainless steel instead of concrete to reduce carbon impact.

To facilitate construction – and minimise disruption to the local community – Scottish Water obtained land adjacent to the old WwTP.

EPS then worked closely with Scottish Water’s delivery partner, ESD, a joint venture between Binnies, Galliford Try, and MWH Treatment to execute the project efficiently.

The result: More influent capacity, better effluent quality

With construction complete, start-up and commissioning activities could begin. Influent was diverted from the old site to the new tanks to grow Nereda’s biological activity to a level that will reliably treat five times the original plant’s capacity for flow and load.

The plant’s Nereda controller automates processes to maintain performance, and regular software enhancements and updates ensure reliability and security. With this support, Scottish Water can phase out the old WwTP and increase water treatment capacity at the new one.

From consultancy to operational support, Royal HaskoningDHV has provided an end-to-end service tailored to the needs of Scottish Water and Winchburgh. And we look forward to the partnership’s next project: providing a new treatment plant for the people of North Berwick.