Charters Towers Water Infrastructure Upgrade Program

Charters Towers sources its drinking water from the Burdekin River via Charters Towers Weir. In 2018 Charters Towers Regional Council engaged Aquatec Maxcon to deliver an upgrade of the FEJ Butcher Water Treatment Plant, boosting capacity to 22 ML/day and enhancing resilience to high-turbidity raw water (up to 10,000 NTU) during wet-season events. This award nominated plant delivered for the Charters Community.

Through the implementation of a series of innovative high performing treatment plant technologies Aquatec Maxcon was able to prove its experience in process design and construction experience almost immediately after commissioning, with flooding in the Burdekin River driving Turbidity above the 10,000 NTU design limit, Yet the plant still performed, supplying Australian Drinking Water Guidelines compliant water for the community. 

The full treatment process consists of:

• Chemical Pretreatment to aid settling 
• Two concrete clarifier basins, each with dual-stage flocculation tanks
• Two Meurer Research Institute (MRI) 316 stainless steel Lamella Plate clarifiers with launders, sludge removal and VSD-controlled mixers
• Four concrete dual-media gravity filter tanks featuring stainless steel plenum floors, inlet distributors, backwash launders, nozzles and media
• MPA Engineering supplied New low-voltage switchroom: switchgear, MCCs, variable speed drives and PLC, SCADA and HMI development, integration & commissioning

Key design parameters were:

• Achieved a daily capacity of 22 ML, with reliable treatment under turbid conditions up to 10,000 NTU
• Enhanced plant flexibility and operational uptime from alternative sources
• Seamless upgrade with uninterrupted water delivery to the community
• Full compliance with modern water-quality standards Australian Drinking Water Guidelines