Aurecon has recently walked away with one of the construction industry’s top accolades at the 2012 Construction World Best Projects awards. First introduced in 2002 and held annually thereafter, the externally-judged ‘Best Projects’ competition is hosted by Construction World magazine. These awards aim to showcase excellence in the South African building, civil engineering and project management sectors.

Held in November at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, this year’s awards attracted an unprecedented 70 entries – the competition’s most yet. This year, Aurecon’s highly acclaimed Meulwater Water Treatment Works (WTW) was named the ‘Overall Winner’ in the Professional Services category.

These awards are not the first for the Meulwater WTW, as the project recently achieved the award for Best Project with a value under R50m at the Consulting Engineers South Africa’s (CESA) Aon Engineering Excellence Awards, the Best Environmental Project award at the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa (IMESA) Awards as well as a Certificate of Merit from the Drakenstein Heritage Foundation.

The 8 Mℓ/d Meulwater WTW treats water from the Nantes and Bethel Dams which are sited on Paarl Mountain, and is located on the boundary of the beautiful Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. “The design team overcame significant challenges in providing a solution for the water needs of the Drakenstein Municipality in a sensitive environmental area,” says Brendon Theunissen, Water and Wastewater Engineer and Project Leader for the Meulwater project.

He adds, “Due to its location, the plant was carefully designed to ensure that it fits appropriately into this environment, while continuing the heritage of water supply and treatment on Paarl Mountain.” Award-winning design features worth noting include the architectural style of the WTW, which minimise its visual impact. In terms of WTW design, Theunissen explains that “direct filtration, which is unusual in South Africa, was chosen to minimise the plant footprint and provide an effective solution for the design water quality.”

Exceptional attention to plant design, construction and finishing, together with innovative solutions to environmental protection needs, has resulted in a special product that is intended to be a heritage for the community served by the Drakenstein Municipality.