Developing holistic and adaptable plans for the management and delivery of optimal and efficient water and wastewater infrastructure projects requires an understanding and knowledge of the natural and built environment, topography, resources, and socioeconomic and even political factors. This includes retrofitting existing infrastructure to ensure systems can cope with the forthcoming demands of climate change.
WSP provides integrated water resources planning, design and engineering, and management to optimise solutions for water supply, alternative sources, storm water and wastewater management, and reuse of reclaimed wastewater. We also have experience in advanced water treatment technologies including desalination of seawater and brackish water and zero-effluent discharge systems for power facilities.
Our water and wastewater infrastructure project experience spans planning, design, and construction management of large diameter pipelines, sewers, outfalls, water and force mains, separate and combined collection systems, pump and overpressure stations, flow control facilities, and special structures related to the storage, transmission and conveyance of raw water, potable water, waste water, storm water and reclaimed water. We also provide modelling, analysis, design and construction management services.
When standard processes do not exist and bespoke approaches are required, we develop innovative, client-focused, cost-effective, long-term solutions to help plan, invest and manage water infrastructure for the future. Our multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, economists/social scientists and project managers has worked closely with clients, including public and private sector companies, local authorities, governments and international organisations, to design the best infrastructure to fit their needs.
WSP’s ongoing work as engineering consultant for the Water Conserv II project in Orange County, Florida, US is a case in point. When faced with a need to expand wastewater treatment service and a regulatory requirement to eliminate wastewater discharges to surface waters, the City of Orlando and Orange County formed a long-term partnership to develop an innovative water reclamation and reuse program, Water Conserv II. Turning a potential liability into a beneficial resource, Water Conserv II, the largest project in the world of this type, provides 125,000 m3/d (33 MGD) of reclaimed water for agricultural and residential irrigation, and aquifer recharge, while providing an environmentally sound and economically feasible regional solution to previously discharged wastewater effluent. For more than 25 years, WSP has been providing water resources services for planning, permitting, design, construction management, and operations and maintenance of the system.
To improve the quality of a water course in Widnes, UK, United Utilities commissioned WSP to develop an underground 16,500 m3 detention tank to reduce discharge of storm sewage from combined sewer overflows. WSP developed a precast, rectangular, concrete tank of modular design measuring 135 m x 42.1 m x 3 m-high—a UK first for a large, storm detention tank. The approach that was taken not only gave the lowest whole-life cost with an initial capital savings of around £1 million, but also gave a shorter construction programme with less noise, dust, vibration and site traffic impacting the local community. The scheme was shortlisted in the Large Project category of the 2017 ICE North West Awards.
In Australia, WSP has been supporting Logan City Council through network planning, engineering design, environmental approvals and programme management on its Logan Water Infrastructure Alliance, one of the country’s largest water infrastructure delivery programmes, which delivers new and improved water, wastewater and recycled water infrastructure to support the growing population throughout the Logan District. This includes extending high standard water services to communities that have not previously had access to them. The project also involves installing sustainable infrastructure wherever possible to minimise lifecycle costs, greenhouse gas emissions, overflows, odours, and other environmental impacts.
WSP provided consulting services to Ontario’s Regional Municipality of Peel in Canada, on the design and construction of the $200 million Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant capacity expansion. As a result of strong growth in the regions, a review of the Water and Wastewater Servicing Master Plan (2005) concluded that the plant capacity must be increased from 347 ML/d to 500 ML/d. The retrofit combines traditional approaches with new technologies to achieve high levels of treatment and the expansion capacity to service population growth to 2031. Lorne Park received an ACEC Award in Excellence for merging existing and new technology while providing uninterrupted high quality drinking water to the region, among other awards.
