Mott MacDonald absorbs Australasian water specialist

The Mott MacDonald consultancy group has taken in AWT, a specialist water technology and consulting company based in New Zealand and Australia.

The move is part of Mott MacDonald‘s business strategy to broaden the services the company offers in the Australasia region. Mott provided concept design, specifications and contract management for the Adelaide desalination project for SA Water, including a 300,000 m³/d seawater reverse-osmosis plant.

AWT has provided science and engineering services across the water sector for over 20 years. Employing around 50 engineers and scientists in its offices in Auckland and Melbourne, the company provides technical solutions spanning the entire project cycle.

The company recently supported the expansion of the Rotorua treatment plant and applied membrane bioreactor technology to meet New Zealand’s tightest nutrient limits from a wastewater discharge. The company has also implemented a new NZ$ 20 million (US$ 17 million) membrane water treatment plant for Taupo to remove arsenic from the source water.

In addition, AWT has developed the H2Knowhow middleware data management platform, which is now being used by several water utilities across the region. In Christchurch City it has been adopted to provide network monitoring data and analysis to assist with the rebuild of underground water assets.

Mott MacDonald’s chairman, Keith Howells commented: “AWT strengthens our water expertise in Australia and throughout the region. AWT’s specialist focus on the science and technology of water also enhances Mott MacDonald’s technical edge for the benefit of projects worldwide.”