South East Queensland was caught in the grip of a severe continent-wide drought and faced stringent water restrictions. Combined dam levels were low, and water supplies were dwindling. Supply to two nearby power stations was threatened. The government needed a solution that would secure water supplies to the power stations, would help with drought-proofing the state and could be operational on an emergency schedule.
Black & Veatch engineers already were assisting the government with the development of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme (WCRW). This far-sighted project included the construction of three advanced water treatment plants and two pipelines that would ultimately produce 232 million liters a day (MLD) of purified recycled water. Black & Veatch, along with joint-venture partners, formed the Bundamba Alliance, which was awarded the design, construction and commissioning of one of the three water treatment plants – the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant (AWTP) Stages 1A and 1B – on a fast-track schedule.
The Bundamba AWTP is part of the largest recycled water scheme in the Southern Hemisphere. The main treatment steps – ultrafiltration membranes, reverse osmosis membranes followed by advanced oxidation using ultra-violet irradiation and hydrogen peroxide – represent the gold standard for water reclamation. The plant is the largest application of 18-inch reverse osmosis membranes. This reduced the capital cost since fewer membranes were required, resulting in less maintenance and a lower plant footprint.
The plant was the first AWTP to come on line and was built in about half the time typically required for a similar facility. Stage 1A delivered first water in less than 10 months after the Bundamba Alliance team received access to the site. The Bundamba Alliance has earned a number of awards, including the prestigious international Project of the Year Award from the Construction Management Association of America.
Stage 1B of the plant added an additional 40 MLD to the capacity of the plant. This innovative, sustainable project is part of the AU$2.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) WCRW project, the third-largest recycled water project in the world. Featuring a network of 200 kilometers (124 miles) of underground pipelines and three new AWTPs, the WCRW project will ensure a secure water supply for the rapidly growing, yet drought-prone South East Queensland region for years to come.
Who wouldn’t put on a hard hat and raise a hand for a project in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies? But what about two harsh winters (-40 degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit), snow drifts and a summer of record rainfall?
Major wireless carriers and infrastructure providers are deploying small cells to meet the demand for faster delivery of more data and video. Most of the time, hundreds to thousands of nodes are deployed at once, in addition to a fiber backhaul network, to achieve desired coverage, capacity, and signal propagation. These programs are complex and can involve hundreds of staff, high-volumes of materials, and many concurrent deployment sites across the country.
Black & Veatch provided engineering and procurement services to Koch Nitrogen Company, LLC for two ammonia plant expansions as well as utility and infrastructure improvements as part of a $1.3 billion expansion of its Enid, Oklahoma facility. The project increased urea and ammonia production at the facility by more than one million tons a year. The facility is one of the largest producers of fertilizer in North America.
Tidal stream energy could theoretically supply more than 150 terawatt hours per annum globally. This represents a potential total global market of up to 50 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity.
Tidal stream energy is a significant renewable energy source because, although it varies, the power output is highly predictable. As a result, it can help to balance supply and demand as part of a balanced energy mix alongside other renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
