The Douglas Water Treatment Plant is a vital facility that ensures Townsville has clean drinking water. It draws water from the Ross River Dam and treats it before distributing it to the 197,000 residents of Townsville. The plant has a daily capacity of 232 million litres, making it a key part of the city's water system.
During seasonal wet weather, the water coming into the plant can have increased turbidity (cloudiness caused by suspended particles). This impacts the filtration capacity of the plant, reducing the maximum treated water production.
To improve operations, Aquatec Maxcon, working under BMD Constructions, upgraded the plant by installing new lamella clarifiers in Modules 3 and 4 in 2023. These lamella clarifiers significantly reduce the raw water turbidity prior to filtration, allowing the downstream sand filter to operate at their full capacity.
A key part of this upgrade was the installation of inclined plate . Constructed from stainless steel, the inclined plate settlers require virtually no maintenance as there are no mechanical moving components. There are highly efficient and can handle high inlet turbidity.
To handle the settled sludge, a sludge collection system was installed. This is a proprietary system that use scrapers attached to header pipes with patented orifice blocks for even withdrawal of sludge across the floor.
With these upgrades, the Douglas Water Treatment Plant is now better equipped to handle seasonal changes in water quality, significantly improving the water security of Townsville by ensuring a steady and reliable supply of clean water.
