The Malmesbury Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) treats wastewater from Malmesbury. The original WWTW prior to a much needed refurbishment and upgrade project was not only overloaded but also discharged sub-standard effluent.

In order to remedy this, the Department of Water Affairs withheld consent for new developments in this municipal area pending a proper resolution of the problem.

Aurecon proposed an innovative solution involving the use of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and designed a hybrid system that incorporated the existing treatment works. The hybrid system used made the MBR technology viable from a cost perspective and allowed the operator of the WWTW, the Swartland Municipality, to reuse the all of the dry weather flow.

Fast forward to the present – last week the annual SAICE National Project Awards were held to recognise and acknowledge well-engineered civil projects that effectively portray the art and science of civil engineering.

Projects that Aurecon was involved with walked away with two coveted awards, one being the The Malmesbury Wastewater Treatment Works, and the second being the KwaMashu Interchange Upgrade. In addition one of the company’s engineers was also recognised with an award.

The KwaMashu Interchange Upgrade in KwaZulu Natal was announced as the joint winner in the Technical Excellence Category, while Malmesbury Wastewater Treatment Works in the received a commendation in the same category.

Dr Eduard Vorster, Aurecon: expertise leader, ground engineering, was a joint winner of the SAICE 2014 Engineer of the Year award. This award recognises a current SAICE Member who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to their fellow members, the Institution, the profession and local community.

It should be mentioned that both the KwaMashu Interchange Upgrade and Malmesbury Wastewater Treatment Works projects were also recipients of awards at the CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards held in August this year.