Southern Water's £80 million wastewater works gets protection from ragging with Hydro-Sludge® Screen.

Situation

Southern Water constructed a new £80 million wastewater treatment works for the Margate and Broadstairs catchment area in the UK, to meet the stringent European Urban Waste Water Directive and to help local beaches meet the European Bathing Water Directive.

The new works take pumped wastewater from Foreness Point and North Foreland Water Treatment Works (WTW) as well as treating 20 million litres (5.3 million gallons) of wastewater generated daily by the 93,000 Margate and Broadstairs residents and visitors.

Problem

The untreated wastewater that the site receives has a high rag content which needs to be removed before the full treatment process.

Solution

Four Hydro-Sludge® Screens were supplied to remove the excessive rags entering with incoming wastewater, protecting the downstream processes.

The screens operate with three screening and one on standby to minimize any downtime," said Alan Coles, Project Engineer, Black and Veatch. "They are installed on a single concrete plinth, over rubbish bins which collect the rags for disposal; their small footprint is ideal for a modern treatment works.

Outcome

The new process at Margate Headworks removes solid waste, with the Hydro-Sludge® Screen system removing rag content.

The wastewater then flows to Weatherlees Hill WTW to undergo full treatment including disinfection with UV before pumping it back to Margate WTW for safe release out to sea through the existing long sea outfall.