The Longford Sewage Treatment Plant officially opened its doors on the 8th of February 2022. The ceremonial ribbon was cut by Northern Midlands mayor Mary Knowles, Aquatec Maxcon Managing Director Peter Ferrando and TasWater Chief Executive Mike Brewster. The $33 million upgrade features Nereda® technology, an aerobic granular sludge. The Longford STP is the first plant in Tasmania to use this type of treatment process and the second plant in all of Australia.

Northern Midlands mayor Mary Knowles, Aquatec Maxcon Managing Director Peter Ferrando and TasWater Chief Executive Mike Brewster officially open the Longford Sewage Treatment Plant.

The Tasmanian Water Authority TasWater engaged Aquatec Maxcon (licensee for Nereda® technology in the region) to deliver the design and construct contract for the Longford STP upgrade. The Nereda® process incorporates a granular biological substrate to remove contaminants, with improved nutrient removal. Nereda® technology allows for the use of smaller treatment tanks, is more energy efficient and provides increased flexibility to manage differing strengths of wastewater. Nereda® technology not only has capital cost savings but also improves overall carbon footprint with significant reductions in power usage and operating costs. It is a sustainable alternative to activated sludge processes and is gaining increasing worldwide attention in the water industry. The Nereda® process has a proven track record for successful odour control and was a major factor in the selection of Nereda® for the plant upgrade.

Mr Mike Brewster, TasWater Chief Executive, said, "We are very pleased that the construction of this plant is now complete, it will now benefit the local community for many years to come."

The new plant only requires two people to run it, with modern control algorithms effectively allowing it to operate on its own. The state of the art technology will improve the plant's carbon footprint, power use and operating costs, and the facility can now treat higher loads of sewerage.

Upgrading the Longford sewage treatment plant will significantly improve the quality of effluent discharge and better manage sewage odours that have previously impacted the nearby town. Nereda® technology processes sewage and other wastewater products more efficiently compared with more conventional treatment methods. Additionally, the Nereda® technology is flexible enough to cope with varied capacities of waste water.

The upgrades are expected to be fully completed by the end of March 2022, with the JBS system to be linked to the upgraded TasWater treatment facility. Operators have already begun working out of the newly upgraded facility, with sections of the old facility soon to be decommissioned.