SA’s largest poo plant ticks off major milestones in historic upgrade

SA Water’s $64 million upgrade of the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant has reached a major milestone, with the project’s single largest concrete pour ticked off as the facility’s new inlet structure takes shape.

More than 310 cubic metres of concrete was poured into the steel-lined base to create the inlet’s foundation, involving the coordination of around 50 mixing trucks across the complex 15-hour pour.

Bolivar’s new inlet will significantly increase the plant’s capacity to receive and process sewage in preparation for higher projected flow rates, as Adelaide’s population grows into the future.

SA Water’s Senior Manager of Capital Delivery Peter Seltsikas said along with the slab pour, the project has achieved a number of other milestones along the way in delivering one of the plant’s largest upgrades.

“Through early procurement, we’ve now taken delivery of new screens which will be retrofitted on the inlet and act as the plant’s first line of defense to capture and remove inorganic material,” Peter said.

“We’ve also recently started replacing three of our existing inlet pipes – which transfer raw sewage from across metropolitan Adelaide to the plant – while they remain temporarily connected to the existing inlet structure.

“Once the new inlet is complete, we’ll change the connections over and construct an additional three inlet pipes, to accommodate increased flows that will come into the plant as the local population grows.

“Despite ticking off the project’s single largest concrete pour, we anticipate we’ll need a further 1,990 cubic metres, with our team now working on forming the concrete roof structure, overflow channels and walls.

“At this stage, we’re hoping to begin installing the inlet’s mechanical equipment in the next few months, which involves our eight customised screens, major support steel structure, and ancillary items such as penstocks and stoplogs that control and isolate the flow of sewage.”

Among the project’s other recent milestones was the use of a 20-tonne tower crane next to the inlet’s concrete slab to help crews lift equipment and pipes into place, along with large panels to facilitate concrete form work.

To keep in step with future projected flows, Bolivar’s capacity to receive sewage from the network will more than double to around 630 million litres per day once the new inlet is operational.

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