The existing Bloemspruit Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) currently services the greater Bloemfontein area and is hydraulically overloaded. A new project is under way to relieve the load on existing infrastructure by constructing an additional WWTW, known as North Western WWTW. The additional facility will also allow the municipality to undertake necessary maintenance on the existing Bloemspruit works. Stefanutti Stocks Civils KZN was awarded the civil construction elements of the project by the Mangaung Metro Municipality in the Free State.
The North East Waste Water Treatment Works is the largest of its kind in the Mangaung District and the sheer size of the project makes it a great project with which to be involved. The project is the first phase of a much bigger scheme that is set to be constructed in the near future. RMD Kwikform was approached by Stefanutti Stocks who had specific technical and timescale requirements for the project. The engineers and technical team at RMD Kwikform worked closely with the site team to provide Stefanutti Stocks a range of specific equipment that would meet the demands of the job.
The scope of work includes construction of:
• New inlet works including screw pump lifting station, mechanical screening, grit-removal structures and flow measurement;
• Biological reactor comprising anoxic and aerobic zones as well as internal recycling streams;
• Two 35-metre-diameter secondary settling tanks (SSTs);
• A chlorination tank;
• A buffer pond;
• Treated sewage effluent outfall including a concrete channel and pipeline to the Bloemspruit River;
• An emergency overflow pond downstream of the inlet works;
• Three concrete-lined sludge lagoons;
• A pumpstation that will pump raw activated sludge (RAS) to the biological reactor and waste activated sludge (WAS) to the sludge lagoons;
• A wash water pump station to relay treated effluent to various locations; and
• Buildings, including a two-storey administration building, an emergency generator building, an administration building and a new chlorine-dosing building.
RMD Kwikform provided Kwikstage for support and access, a GTX Flex System for soffit formwork and wall formwork that included a Minima Panel system and GTX Plywood and Superslim solutions. RMD also designed and delivered special formwork for the column heads to meet the specific requirements for that component of the project.
Most of the project included very technical and detailed aspects which required some problem-solving from both parties. The close working relationship allowed the project team to find solutions that were not only practical but were easily achievable on site.
Site Engineer Levi Swartz said: “Working with RMD Kwikform on the project has been great, from getting easy and workable designs and technical on-site support, right through to delivery time. RMD Kwikform has been a wonderful asset on site.”
Many of the structures on site were 6 m or more in height with battered walls sloping at 3° with very intricate detail in their design. Like all building sites, time is always a major factor, and Stefanutti required solutions that could not only save time but could be erected safely and with ease. The technical team and formwork designers worked together to formulate a GTX Plywood solution for the walling components of the project, which made it possible for the site team to speed up production with faster pour rates and pour cycles using a product tailored to their specific needs.
RMD Kwikform was able to utilise their experience in the market and wide range of equipment to assist with all technical aspects of the variety of works needed on site.
The project started February 2013 and construction is scheduled for completion in November 2014.
More information from Julie Short on Tel: 012 004 1000 / www.rmdkwikform.com
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