Wastewater services

The company primarily manages the networks and wastewater treatment systems for Berlin, Prague, Rabat, Durban, and Adelaide, and has been chosen to design, build and operate wastewater treatment plants and networks for the cities of Brussels and the Hague.

But it also still manages all different sizes of networks and treatment plants. It has developed a service provision for small local authorities aimed at managing the wastewater systems of those constituents who are not connected to the public wastewater system.

Aware that the efficient management of wastewater treatment services directly affects the economic development of local communities and also protects water resources, Veolia Water has developed a global approach to provide assistance irrespective of their size or the nature of their technical or regulatory issues.

The project must go through the following stages in order to be successful.

1. Evaluating wastewater requirements:

• environmental impact study identifying sources of chronic and accidental degradation to the environment
• assessing the facilities and their efficiency
• identifying current and future water use from the viewpoint of sustainable development.

2. Defining a local wastewater strategy:

• strategic action plan in agreement with the financial stakeholders
• investment planning
• specifying and implementing monitoring tools for the approach

3. Guaranteeing wastewater quality:

• respecting the set level of service
• efficiency and speed of response in the event of an incident
• monitoring domestic and industrial wastewater customers in order to provide possible improvements in the service

4. Measuring service performance:

• introducing indicators that measure the continuity of service, the running of the network, the performance of the treatment and the efficient management of the assets
• creating and disseminating wastewater performance indicators
• assisting in attaining certification for the service.

5. Communicating to the local community about the impact of wastewater services:

• promoting this service as a device which assists in the development of the local community
• informing and involving customers
• developing the image of the wastewater service by promoting the results that have been achieved from the re-establishing of the environment such as fishing, water sports, beach water, etc.

Faced with ever changing requirements that weigh down on the wastewater services, and to ensure efficient operations and that the environment is being protected, Veolia Water recommends the move from "everything down the drain" to "as little as possible down the drain".

Research into new wastewater treatment processes has led to the development of ever smaller wastewater treatment plants, the removal of more and more dust from pollutant elements found in wastewater, primarily nitrates and phosphates.

The process of using high-rate sedimentation systems such as Actiflo™ or biological filtration treatments, Biostyr™ and Biosep™, are tried and tested examples of these wastewater treatment solutions.