Shaping the future water treatment plant

Engineering design and consultancy company Binnies Singapore has been awarded the tender to reconstruct Choa Chu Kang Waterworks, one of Singapore’s oldest water treatment plants. William Yong, managing director of Binnies Singapore, shares with Water & Wastewater Asia on technologies that will be installed for this project, and how digitalisation will transform future water plants.

CCKWW currently hosts one of the world’s largest ceramic membranes system (Photo credit: PUB, Singapore’s national water agency).

Choa Chu Kang Waterworks (CCKWW), one of Singapore’s oldest water treatment plants, will be undergoing reconstruction and be transformed into a water treatment facility equipped with the latest water treatment technologies and smart capabilities to enhance its operations, maintenance, safety and security when completed in 2026.

The reconstruction project has been awarded to Binnies Singapore, an RSK Group company, by PUB, Singapore’s national water agency. Under the agreement, the former will provide detailed design, construction supervision and commissioning of CCKWW reconstruction project for the next five years.

Speaking with Water & Wastewater Asia, William Yong, managing director of Binnies Singapore, said that the CCKWW reconstruction project will provide PUB with a “blueprint for future water plants” that adopt innovative digital technology in their operations and maintenance. The key areas of focus include automation in chemical handling and preparation using robotics to eliminate manual intervention, as well as remote monitoring and early fault prediction of equipment operation.

One such solution that will be adopted in its operations and maintenance is the integration of cameras with video analytics headsets that allow for remote supervision, and wearable devices with geofencing and health monitoring functions via a structural digital twin to improve operational reliability, safety and security of the plant.

“The technologies to be implemented and installed in CCKWW will be discussed at the start of the project collectively with the plant operators and project team at PUB to devise the most appropriate design and control philosophy that will meet PUB’s intent to transform CCKWW into their most advanced water treatment works facility,” Yong said. “As the first of its kind, the completed CCKWW will change the landscape for our water industry locally and beyond, into the Asia region.”

The full article is published on the latest Water & Wastewater Asia Sep/Oct 2021 issue. To continue reading, click here.