1.

The reasons why the BNR process was selected in Bendigo

a. Utilise the latest biological technologies and maximise the use of microbes
b. Removes majority of dissolved elements in the sewerage like nitration, nitrate , potassium, salt, and
ammonia so the environmental impact is lowered (fish, flora and fauna) and the Ramsar Wetlands in
Kerang which get its water from the Bendigo Creek
c. Phosphorus removal prevent algae growth in water ways
d. Lease amount of maintenance works such as cleaning and maintaining the trickle filters (minimise costs)
e. Maximise the Biosolid production to be used as fertilisers and the RAS (return activated sludge)
2. The Epsom WWTw has the capacity to treat 27 million litres of sewerage per day and during the peek wet
weather flow it can handle 81 million letters per day by utilising the water factories holding tanks (Lagoons).
Currently its running between 14-20million litres per day which is mostly due to the peek morning (8-10AM)
flows and evening (8-11PM) flows.
3. The wastewater consists of three main components
a. Large solids up to 3mm– vegetables, toilet paper, various plastic products,
b. Grit Sediments – sand, egg shells, coffee and tee partials
c. Suspended solids – BOD , Fat, carbohydrates, proteins
d. Dissolved solids like - ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, potassium, sugars, salts
4. Variation of the sewerage – Depend on the Catchment area of the sewage system
a. Day - two main peek times ad described above during mornings and evenings
b. Month – during wet weather due to infiltration and unauthorised domestic and industrial roof water
connections an increase in influent and proportional to population increase
c. Season – during dry drought periods end users of water (consumers) recycle more water due to the
restrictions (gray water), also during dry months evaporation contribute to low influent , dietery intake
and behaviour of individuals fluctuate the flow rates during months and seasons. Also the festivals and
social events increase flows
5. As mentioned in the above during peak times of the day, social events thought yeas, populatin increase and
the how much individuals recycle the water contribute to a fluctuating high low flow rates
6. The plant works in 5 stages
a. Primary treatment: bar screens remove large particles in the headwork’s building which prevent
blockage further down the treatment process. The rubbish collected from these screens are dropped to
series of hoppers and send to a sanitary landfills or to a onsite lactation(EPA approval required)– at the
end of headwork’s the flow is measured for calculation purposes.
b. Preliminary treatment: Course and abrasive materials in the sewage is removed in a settlement tank.
Primary sludge which is accumulated on the bottom of these tanks is removed by pumps and sends to
anaerobic digester. Any fatty solids which float to the top of these tanks are skimmed off and send to
treatment.
c. Secondary treatment: A biological treatment called an activated sludge treatment method is used in the
EPSOM plant with the introduction of a new Anoxic Zone between the Anaerobic Zone And the Aerobic
Zone.
After leaving the Primary treatment sewage enters a series of tanks in the secondary treatment.
Depending on the availability of O2 different microbes work with the sewage and break down the
soluble and suspended solids to a large colony of microbes, few suspended solids. The main zones in the
secondary are the
I. Anaerobic Zone: free of dissolved O2, initial break down of organic matter,
II. Anoxic Zone: free of dissolved O2, Nitrate is introduced from the RAS so the microbes break
down the nitrite as a O2 source to produce N2. ( all the Nitrogen removed after this stage)
III. Aerobic Zone: Dissolved O2 is introduced by surface airenators, break down the remaining
organic matter and phosphorous. (phosphorus is the cause of Algae growth)
 IV. Add a polymer at the end of the secondary tank, The introduction of aluminium to the sewage
in the preliminary stage and the addition of a polymer compound help flocculation and remove
phosphorus
d. Final clarification – large colonies of bacteria clog to the outer walls and as they get denser
(Flocculation) they break and fall to the bottom of the clarifiers, large scoops scrape the bottom of these
clarifiers and pump the activated sludge to the RAS or the WAS- Digesters.
e. Tertiary treatment - further treatment (polishing) : shallow gravel beds or beds of reeds, sand filters,
chlorination and de chlorination, lagoons, microfiltration, UV treatments are used to polish the effluent
from the clarifiers. See figure 1
f. Waste management: Sludge from the primary and secondary treatment is collected and pumped back to
sludge tanks. Some of the sludge is returned back to the secondary treatment zones for bacteria growth
and the rest is thickened, dewatering by centrifuges, compacted treated in anaerobic digesters to
produce the cake of the biofuel. The biofuel’s used as a fertiliser in farmlands
7. See attached figure 1
8. Unit costs : the BNR treatment plants run cheaper than a non BNR process given that most of the variables
are controlled. Lower costs due to lower maintenance cost, energy costs, minimal plant operation staff,
minimum testing etc.
9. Sludge is managed by
a. Preliminary stage large particles : Send to Landfills onsite or carted away to other sanitary
landfills(Eaglehawk)
b. Some of the sludge produced/formed in the primary settlement tanks and the clarifiers are send back to
the start of the secondary treatment and is called the Return activated sludge. The rest of the sludge is
send to a series of chambers and drying plants using series of pumps and pipelines. This process is called
the waste activated sludge and is done in 3 stages. Effluents collected in these stages are sent back to
the RAS.
I. Dewatering: DAFA chambers (gravity thicknesses) are used to dewater the sludge
II. Anaerobic Digesters: Break down any bad bacteria in the sludge in heated chambers
III. Centrifuges: further remove any access water in the sludge
IV. Sludge dryers: final stage of the sludge process is made here by further dewatering and
drying the sludge to produce Fertilisers
10. The quality of the final effluent from the WWTw
a. Chlorination and dechlorination unit: Class B – Archived by chlorination, sand filtration and UV
disinfectant
b. Microfiltration unit: Class A – archived by further polishing the effluent using membranes and
chlorination and UV treatment.
11. How’s the water polished
a. lagoons
b. chlorination:
c. Ultra violet light:
d. Dechlorination:
e. Membranes
12. The use of the effluent:
a. Class B : release to environmental flow, some farm and agricultural activities
b. Class A: mining, release to environment
13. Septic tank waste collected by large trucks could and be treated at the WWTw . The septic tank wastes are
pumped to the activated sludge line since they have more solid matter than liquid.
14. Sometimes the fine balance between the microorganisms and influent could be breached due to various
reasons which contribute to a microorganisms getting killed at a rapid rate or get to point where cannibalism
could occur. Any of these conditions could be catastrophic and could take a long time to recover. The Brine
 produces from the membranes have a high concentration of salts which need to be stored so that minimal
damage to the groundwater and surface water is made. Research is been done to archive a best practice
method to dispose the brine at the moment, most possibly evaporation ponds would be the solution.
15. Currently the plants order is not managed on site to the fullest extent. Minor precautionary measures are
used to reduce the odour from escaping to the environment. The main reason to this is the large buffer
zone. But during high wind periods and dry periods the odour could be a nuisance. To manage the odour air
from the tanks and digesters (H2S sources) need to be filtered by capturing and treating biologically or
chemically. Also by capping man holes. Providing ceilings in tanks the odour could be managed further more.
16. Test need to be done to determine the following parameter on regular basis specially during wet weather
and drought periods therefore regular access to laboratories is a necessity
a. Since the secondary and tertiary treatment process produce sludge the correct time to remove need to
be identified by tests
b. Analyse the health of microbes
c. Analyse the quality of the effluent
d. Groundwater quality near lagoons and holding tanks.
e. Air pollutants need to be monitored so nearby landowners wouldn’t complain.
17. The most difficult procedure of the plant as identified by the plant manager is the management of the plants
microfiltration section. To meet water quality standards the unit need to be run as an integrated system
(Chlorination/UV Treatment and microfiltration/EDR process). The two different polishing methods need to
be carried out precisely in this stage in producing class A water. Unfortunately due to the bad design and
selection of wrong materials and equipment in this stage have made life more difficult for the operation
staff. The SCADA computer operation system which is extensively used in this section requires specialised
knowledge to operate.
18. The BNR process is the most appropriate treatment method with respect to the quality of the effluent. But
as the population grows, new chemicals get introduced to the waste water (could kill the venerable bacteria
and microorganisms), climate change and the bad odour the micromanagement system could be tedious and
prone to malfunction. Improvements in the BNR process to control odour in the aerobic tanks and anaerobic
digesters, produce electricity from methane gas can further improve the efficiency of the water factory. At
the same time during the design due to the high risks and uncertainties there would have been a large safety
factors used in the design which could balance any fluctuations of populations and demand.
19. Sand filters provide a filtration for any remaining suspended solids or dead bacteria while there are dripped
down by gravity. The sand filters do get clogged as time goes so by reverse flow of water the trapped dirt in
the sand media is removed (see attached figure 3).
20. The water factory is a fully integrated waste water treatment plant. Where community waste (septic waste)
is treated to the fullest level of its class. It could handle both dry and wet water flow due to the separate
sewer system (separate sanity sewage and stormwater sewer system) used in Bendigo. Operation is based
on a risk based approach and involve (See attached figure 4)
a. Management of landfill , chemicals, visitors, pests, finding suppliers and potential buyers for the
biomass (fertilizers)
b. Comply within the EPA licensed air, water, noise levels.
c. Constant monitoring and testing of influent and effluent.
d. Cleaning of tanks and other equipments
e. Energy management – electricity,
f. Meet OH&S policies
g. Management of hydraulics using manual and automated (SCADA) system (pumps/ valves)
h. Emergency management procedures
21. Most Interesting Part of the Excursion: as mentioned by the manager the how could civil engineers could
develop their future designs by utilising local expertise in the industry. Site visits and consultation with
existing plants could eliminate any overdesign or under design issues also this will make life easy for the day
to day operation and maintenance works. As mentioned by the manager the insight into the defects such as
oversize pumps , not accounting for basic hydraulic principals like water hammer, selection of pipe
materials, down sights of costs cutting by using cheep materials which could contribute to other side effects,
insufficient valves between pumps for maintenance works to name a few.