WABAG completes Namibia reclamation plant

Austria-based water engineering group, WABAG, has completed a water reclamation plant in Namibia’s capital Windhoek.

The 5,175 m3/day facility in Ujams, an industrial area to the north of the capital, is treating the water from five different production plants. According to WABAG it is using advanced technologies that include the industrial-scale debut of WABAG’s Micropur process which involves innovative fine sieving.

The impurities in the wastewater are diverse because that emanate from different production processes. And the pollutant concentrations are subject to major fluctuations. The water is cleaned to allow its reuse for irrigation or as process water for industry. The plant is the first for industrial reuse in Namibia.

An existing wastewater treatment facility was overburdened and no longer fulfilled stricter discharge regulations. So the city decided to build a new and sustainable plant and in an innovative move put the contract out to tender under a build own operate transfer model with the participation of private investors.

The deal included financing, design and engineering, construction and commissioning of the plant, as well as its operational management for 21 years. The transfer to the city is scheduled for 2035. Until then the plant will remain the property of UWTC.

The Micropur treatment is followed downstream by a membrane bioreactor, a UV disinfection stage, sludge treatment and odour treatment. Prior to its full-scale installation, this new process was subjected to seven months of pilot testing.

WABAG is the lead company in the Ujams Wastewater Treatment Company (UWTC) joint venture along with Veolia Water.