This $240 million state-of-the-art plant was opened by the Premier of New South Wales, the Honourable Bob Carr, on the 4th of November 1996. The plant was built under a 25-year Build, Own and Operate contract between Sydney Water Corporation, and the Prospect Water Partnership, a consortium consisting of Lyonnaise des Eaux (now SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT), Ondeo and Unisuper. Degrémont Australia (a subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT) is the plant operator. http://www.degremont.com.au/

1. Prospect
(New South Wales, Australia)
Water Filtration
plant

2. Prospect
(New South Wales, Australia)
Water Filtration plant
Project details
The Prospect Water Filtration Plant was opened by the Premier
of New South Wales, the Honourable Bob Carr, on the 4th of
November 1996.
The plant was built under a 25 year Build, Own and Operate
contract between Sydney Water Corporation, and the Prospect
Water Partnership, a consortium consisting of Lyonnaise des Eaux
(now SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT), Ondeo and Unisuper. Degrémont (a
subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT) is the plant operator.
The project manager during construction was Civil & Civic, now
trading as Bovis Lend Lease, and the principal designer was the
Prospect Water Group, a joint venture of Australian Consultants
CMPS&F and Sinclair Knight Mertz.
Technical Innovation
Plant Hydraulics
Plant location and layout meant that only 5.2m of head was available
to allow gravity flow to be maintained throughout the Plant. Several
innovations in the passive flow control systems were incorporated
resulting in:
• Excellent level of accuracy in flow split to each filter, plus or minus 2%
• Even flow conditions past chemical dosing points, maximising
chemical usage efficiency and filter yields
• Minimal headloss
• Plant layout rationalisation resulting in construction cost savings of
approximately $40 million
Chemical Mixing
The sheer size of the four contact channels, each over 4m wide and
6m deep and the low head available, meant that innovative solutions
for chemical mixing systems had to be developed to ensure rapid
and even dispersion and efficiency. Hydraulic flash mixing was
developed on a scale never before attempted. The result was:
• Full chemical dispersion across the channel within one second
resulting in highly efficient coagulation
• Minimum chemical consumption.
Filters
At Prospect, solids removal occurs directly on the filters, eliminating
the need for a sedimentation stage. However, to achieve adequate
filter runs, major innovations in filter design were required. The result
is filters:
• With a filtration rate of 24m/hour, which is double the previous
average for conventional filters
• That are among the world’s largest, with an individual bed size of
almost 240m2
• Have the highest capacity per m3
of any in the world
In addition, an innovative non-expanded bed backwashing system
with simultaneous air and water backwash was incorporated into the
filter system.
The outcome has been:
• Treated water of a quality that has consistently and substantially
exceeded contractual requirements
• Improved filter yields
• 50% less backwash water used over conventional expanded
backwash system.
The Prospect Water Filtration Plant is recognised as
one of the world’s largest water filtration plants, with
a capacity to provide drinking water to 80 per cent of
Sydney’s population – 3.5 million people.
Located at Prospect Reservoir some 15 kilometres
west of Sydney’s CBD, the Prospect Plant operates
24 hours a day and uses innovative water filtration
techniques to purify the water. It can currently filter
up to three billion litres of water a day.
The Plant provides Sydney with high quality drinking
water that complies with Australian Drinking Water
Guidelines published by the National Health and
Medical Research Council.

3. Operational Reliability
To achieve an extremely comprehensive level of operational
reliability, a highly automated process and management system was
incorporated into the Plant. The inherent flexibility in being able to
adapt to change, has also allowed the plant to operate at maximum
efficiency.
Innovation in the Delivery Process
Construction / Project Management
Construction of the plant was completed:
• 6 months ahead of schedule
• Within budget
• Overcoming major site limitations to produce a very compact and
cost effective plant
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability was a key concern at Prospect from the
beginning. The following practices were adopted:
• An Environmental Management Plan outlining agreed standards
was implemented and reviewed before construction commenced
• All workers receive environmental training as part of their site
induction
• Very effective silk curtains were developed, preventing sediments
entering Prospect Reservoir
Quality Assurance Systems
The Plant complied with the requirements of ISO 9001 during
construction, and has since been certified ISO 14000 and ISO 9002
for operation as well as obtaining the NSCA 5 star safety rating.
Commissioning
The commissioning process, based on a 30 day Operating Trial, was
completed without a single failed day, and was described by Sydney
Water as exemplary.
Human Resource Management
An innovative human resource management (HRM) system was
developed which is based on:
• Self directed and cross functional teams focused on continuous
improvement
• Multi-skilled
• Empowered staff with a customer focus
• Remuneration system based on annualized salary
• A flat management structure with only four levels from Plant
Technicians to Managing Director
• A fully autonomous site. The result has been high job satisfaction,
and excellent relations with trade unions, including ratification of
an Enterprise Agreement by the Australian Services Union.
Operations
The Plant is performing even better than expected.
• The average treated water quality has been consistently better
than the quality required in the contract;
• The Plant has been operating efficiently since commissioning,
with operating costs within budget; and an excellent operating
reliability track record.

4. DEGRÉMONT
LEVEL 7, 5 RIDER BOULEVARD
PO BOX 3246 RHODES NSW 2138
AUSTRALIA
TEL: +61 (0)2 8759 7900
FAX: +61 (0)2 9332 6882
WWW.DEGREMONT.COM.AU
Warragamba
Pipelines
1. Warragamba Pre Chlorination
2. Pre Oxidation
3. ph Adjustment / Filtered Supermatant Return
4. Pre Chlorination (Prospect)
5. Ferric Chloride
6. Catonic Ploymer / Lime Water
7. Non Ionic Polymer (NIP)
8. ph Adjustment
9. Chlorine / Floride
10. Chlorine
11. Ammonia
12. Anionic polymer
13. Ferric Chloride / Catonic Polymer / NIP
14. NIP
UpperCanal
1 2 3
5
6
7
4
8
10
11
12
14
13
9
ProsPect
(Wetherill Park, NSW, Australia)
Characteristics
Raw water
criteria
Treated
water
objectives
Treated
water
criteria
Capacity up to 3,000 MLD
Filtration rate up to 24 m/h
Turbidity
(NTU)
Max 40 <0.1 <0.5
True Colour
(HU)
Max 60 <5 <10
Alkalinity
(mg/l as
CaCO3)
21 – 45
pH 6.27 – 7.87 7.7 7.5 – 7.9
Chlorine
Residual
(mg/l)
1.7 1.5 – 1.9
Chlorine:
Ammonia
4:1
3.7:
1 – 4.3:1
Algae
(ASU/ml)
1000
Compliance
with
Guidelines
Compliance
with
Guidelines