Plant operator story Dodewaard

Why did you want to work with wastewater treatment?

I always found it interesting to know how wastewater was treated. Before I started as a plant operator in August 2019, I was operating the filter press at the wastewater treatment plant in Tiel. This way I got to know more and more about wastewater treatment and found it an interesting and challenging job opportunity.

What do you like the most about your job?

I like that it’s so challenging and diverse.

What do you think about the Nereda technology?

I think it’s an interesting and innovative technology. Especially the fact that the whole treatment process takes place within one tank. Other wastewater treatment plants take up more space, more construction is involved, and all steps of the process take place in many different tanks.

How is Nereda technology different from other waterwaste treatment technologies that you know?

The Nereda technology is a lot different from our other plants because its twice as fast and the effluent quality is much better. The older plants are also much more overloaded. It’s exciting to share with other colleagues how this technology works.

What is the worst thing that people can throw in the sewer?

Bulky waste, (cleaning) cloths and (hard) plastic.

What does the future of wastewater treatment look like in your perspective?

Lately, a lot of heavy rainstorms cause a lot of rainwater to the wastewater treatment plants. In the future, every municipality will have a separate sewerage system. This way the wastewater treatment plants will be less overloaded from a hydraulic point of view. In the future, I also expect that all processes will be fully automatized, like Nereda, and I can imagine that the quality of the wastewater will be measured in the sewer system and not only in the wastewater treatment plant.

About Dodewaard

The old wastewater treatment plant in Dodewaard was replaced in 2020 as it had to take on an increasing capacity. There were two strict requirements for the new plant when it had to be built; it had to be energy neutral and it must fit on the same plot of land. Eliquo Water and Energy selected Nereda as the most suitable tender and it became the winning tender both because of its efficient energy consumption and small footprint. In order to make it energy neutral, a small solar park was built next to the plant which can sustain the energy use of the plant completely. Also, not to waste any resources, two of the tanks from the old facility are reused as a Nereda buffer tank and as a storm water tank.