The location of TradeCoast Central makes it almost undevelopable.
Flexible solutions
Due to high water table conditions, it is impossible to install a conventional gravity sewer system. The development site is very large (120 hectares) and flat with only one metre of fall across its length.
Aquatec worked with the region’s developers to offer the best commercial pressure sewer system to meet the site’s requirements, ensuring a cost-effective outcome for developers and tenants alike.
Aquatec’s expertise enabled it to provide flexible solutions for Trade Coast Central. We were able to combine different sized tanks with numerous pumps to cope with higher peak flows and various flow rates for each lot, ranging from 1,000 to 30,000 litres a day.
Why pressure sewer?
A conventional sewer system would require deep excavation to achieve the correct gradient of the mains or the installation of conventional package pumping stations every 250 metres or so.
The TradeCoast Central estate was keen on greener development solutions and sought a sewer system that would have minimal impact on the council sewer system. There was consensus with Brisbane Water and the developers that a commercial pressure sewerage system would be the best option to allow TradeCoast Central to be developed.
The impact of industrial zoning
TradeCoast Central was zoned for industrial development and this created a further problem: the pressure sewer pumps currently on the market were of the positive displacement type, featured small flow rates and an average life of 1,000 hours for their wearable parts.
Due to the size of the buildings and number of tenements, some individual sites had up to eight pumps running almost continuously, resulting in pumps needing replacement parts every two to three months. The owners of the development did not consider this situation to be ideal for their valued tenants.
The Aquatec difference
Aquatec had just released the next generation OGP 2-stage centrifugal pressure sewer pump, which due to the unique design of its vortex impellers, has far less wear than a positive displacement pump and can operate for much longer periods with little or no effect on wearing parts. Additionally, the OGP next generation pump generates more flow than the positive displacement alternatives and requires fewer pumps per site. This greatly reduces the upfront costs of the pumping systems to developers and also dramatically reduces the ongoing service costs to tenants.
Aquatec completed the design of the commercial pressure sewerage system and was also able to offer larger fibreglass emergency storage vessels and pump chambers to accommodate the higher incoming flows.
“Using the Aquatec pressure sewer system allowed for minimum excavation and eliminated the need for pumps to be installed on the mains. The use of a low pressure sewer has little or no impact on the environment due to leakage from the pipework into the ground. Also, it will not let rainwater infiltrate the system in heavy periods as conventional gravity systems do, reducing the peak wet weather flow at the receiving council treatment plant. The key advantage of the Aquatec pressure sewer system is reducing the overall effect on downstream infrastructure. The ultimate peak discharge is controlled through pipe sizing and pump specifications, to ensure not more than eight pumps run simultaneously throughout the entire 120 hectares. This integrated network has reduced peak demands on the council’s treatment plant by 75% compared to conventional gravity systems.”
— Cassie Eivers, TradeCoast Central
