Wellington Water operates the Te Marua water treatment plant (WTP). Earthquake strengthening is required on the Kaitoke flume bridge which connects the primary source (Hutt river) to the WTP. Modelling of supply and demand was required to determine the risk with isolating the primary source to the water treatment plant and determine the best strategy for shutdown planning.
Challenge
The Te Marua WTP supplies approximately 40% of water in the Wellington region. Earthquake strengthening is required on the Kaitoke flume bridge which connects the primary source (Hutt river) to the WTP. Te Marua WTP has an emergency source in the Stuart Macaskill lakes which have limited storage and can mobilise an emergency raw water pump system to supply the WTP. Isolation of the primary source is required to enable the works and Lutra was approached to model the supply and demand on Te Marua WTP to enable shutdown planning.
Solution
Lutra modelled the supply and demand successfully and provided recommendations on shutdown planning breaking it down into different risk categories. The recommendations are being implemented in the shutdown planning.
Additionally, Lutra developed a source contingency plan to enable WTP operators to manage the limited storage in the emergency source (lakes) when the primary source (Hutt river) is unavailable. The plan reviews the status of the lakes and the production capacity within the network and provides clear instructions on what steps the operator should take and when escalation is required.
Who are Lutra?
Established in 2006, Lutra have been helping our customers to improve their water and wastewater operations with our range of software and engineering services for well over a decade. With representation across numerous industries bodies and working groups, Lutra have become a trusted partner for government municipalities and industrial clients both here and abroad.
