Extreme Weather

The trouble with extreme weather

Droughts, floods, and heatwaves: Australia is no stranger to such extreme weather events that directly affect its access to water. Beyond concerns of water availability, however, these natural hazards can adversely impact water quality in rivers and dams, which disrupt water services such as drinking water supply, wastewater conveyance and treatment, and stormwater management. This is an especially worrying predicament for a country that is heavily reliant on surface water resources for its water needs.

Common effects of extreme weather events on water quality include:

Extreme weather event and its impact

Extreme weather event and its impact

Potential effect on treatment and supply capability

Drought —

Adverse impact on drinking water supply and quality

High dissolved organic concentration (DOC)

·         High total suspended solids (TSS)*

·         Increased algae

Taste and odour issues with drinking water supplies

·         High OPEX and equipment failure

·         Reduced ability to produce drinking water

·         Decrease in quality of potable water

Flooding —

Adverse impact on drinking water supply and quality, wastewater treatment efficiency and networks

High DOC

·         High TSS

·         High Turbidity

Taste and odour issues with drinking water supplies

·         Higher OPEX and equipment failure

·         Reduced ability to produce drinking water

·         Untreated overflows (leading to overloading of sewers and WWTPs)

·         Reduced effluent quality at WWTP's

 

*TSS includes floating and colloidal material, organic and inorganic compounds.

Droughts and floods can adversely impact drinking water quality, water supply (or water security), the quality of WWTP effluent, and the frequency of untreated overflows. With the right equipment, however, you can future-proof your treatment plant from both extreme weather events. Come rain or shine, you can be assured of a secure, high-quality drinking water supply, and you can put an end to decreased effluent quality or untreated overflows.
 

Veolia's solution

Preparing well for extreme weather events — which often occur with little to no warning — requires versatile technology that can respond quickly to a wide range of rapidly changing conditions.

The Actiflo® system is a compact, robust, and versatile solution that enables water companies to strengthen their operational resilience and to safeguard water quality during extreme weather events.

The solution can be added as a pre-treatment step in drinking water plants, or as an effective primary, tertiary, or sidestream treatment in WWTPs and networks. In addition, the Actiflo® is capable of treating flash floods of water quality levels varying from 1000 NTU to 30 NTU, and can maintain a steady drinking water supply that measure less than 5 NTU.

 

Watch this video to find out how Actiflo® can meet your needs.

 

One technology, multiple applications

A combination of chemical precipitation, micro-sand enhanced flocculation, and lamella sedimentation processes, Actiflo® can be used in various applications:

  • Drinking water (clarification)
  • Sewage primary treatment (chemically enhanced PST)
  • Sewage tertiary treatment/polishing (TP/TSS removal)
  • Sewage storm overflow (SSO/CSO)