Two MWH projects have been announced as finalists in the 2014 New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards.
The New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are one of the premier awards programs in the calendars of New Zealand’s engineering professionals with awards categories recognizing People, Projects and Products, and a Supreme Award for the best project and product.
MWH is very proud of the innovative projects that have been announced as two of the 19 finalists for the 2014 awards:
- the Eastern Selwyn Sewerage Scheme
- the Mapua Wharf Wastewater Pump Station
Both projects, successfully delivered by the MWH New Zealand team have already received accolades earlier in 2014 winning the Physical Works over $10 million category and the Physical Works between $2-10 million category at the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia awards in July 2014.
The awards presentation dinner for the Engineering Excellence Awards will be held on Friday, November 28th at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland.
Eastern Selwyn Sewerage Scheme
MWH New Zealand designed and delivered the Easter Selwyn Sewerage Scheme at Rolleston, near Christchurch with project partners Selwyn District Council and HEB Construction.
Initially, the aim was to expand the Eastern Selwyn Sewerage Scheme to convey and treat wastewater for the projected population increases in Prebbleton, Lincoln and Rolleston which had already had 20 years of significant growth. Project planning had to be suddenly expanded to allow for the unpredicted, significant migration of Christchurch residents into Selwyn following the Canterbury earthquakes. The project programme was accelerated without burdening ratepayers with unsupportable infrastructure costs, and while maintaining the existing plant operation.
A large portion of the operating cost of the existing wastewater treatment plant was in handling and disposing of sludge. The most innovative part of the project was a New Zealand-first solar air drying hall for biosolids which has provided a cost saving of about $3 million to $4 million by massively reducing the sludge needing to be carted off site for disposal. The project was led by MWH Christchurch engineers Rainer Hoffmann, Shane Bishop and Mark Ridge.
Mapua Wharf Wastewater Pump Station
Never before has the construction of a wastewater pump station been attempted on a site with such a history of contamination. Due to expected population growth, a new pump station was needed for Mapua wharf in the Tasman district. The proposed new location was acknowledged as once the most contaminated site in New Zealand - the former Fruitgrowers’ Chemicals Company (FCC) manufacturing plant site. MWH New Zealand took on the challenge after being commissioned by the Tasman District Council to evaluate the Mapua wastewater reticulation system and propose how it could meet the expected doubling of the area’s population over the next 30 years.
The MWH design ensured that the volume of contaminated earthworks and ground water needing to be dealt with was minimised. Excavated material was not allowed to come into contact with any other land area, vehicle or person before being transported in lined trucks to the Council’s landfill. Another challenge was designing and constructing the pump station in a restricted space at Mapua wharf, a tourist hot spot. This meant it had to be aesthetically pleasing with no odour.
During construction, stringent precautions ensured the health and safety of contractors and the community. Site staff wore full body protective clothing and had to obtain the appropriate inoculations. MWH, with project partners Tasman District Council and Ching Contracting Ltd., delivered a cost-effective outcome that met the project requirements. The project was led by MWH engineers Avik Halder in Nelson and Grant Shearer in Wellington.
