Quick Facts
Client: Melbourne Water
Location: Melbourne
Services: Monitoring system design
Our Client
Melbourne Water is owned by the Victorian Government and is the supplier of wholesale water, sewerage, drainage and waterway management services for greater Melbourne. It operates the Western and Eastern Treatment plants in Melbourne.
The Issue
Melbourne Water Scope 1 Emissions Innovation Competition, a highly competitive global contest aimed at identifying new solutions. In October 2018 Melbourne Water invited the public to join a contest for innovative ways to reduce or eliminate Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) from their wastewater treatment plants.
This competition gave HydroTerra and collaborators Ternes Scientific and Macquarie University the opportunity to submit our ideas to assist Melbourne Water on reducing emissions and share in a funding pool totalling $200,000 AUD if our idea was selected. Individuals, institutions and corporations based in Australia and overseas were eligible to apply. Submissions could be based on early-stage concepts or ideas through to established technologies and process solutions.
HydroTerra's Solution
HydroTerra prepared a submission focussed on the competition category of: Emissions measurement and modelling. The Competition Jury selected the top four ideas and were awarded funding ($10,000 AUD each) to produce a detailed solution. HydroTerra was successful in being shortlisted.
HydroTerra proposed the deployment of a novel, integrated above and below surface gas monitoring system to quantify scope 1 emissions. We came second, behind Cranfield University who proposed an alternative treatment paradigm based on abiotic processes and anaerobic treatment which eliminate the production of scope 1 emissions.
Monitoring Concept Development
HydroTerra developed system schematics, emissions flow diagrams, process pathways, monitoring logic and proposed instrumentation layouts aligned with scientific objectives.
Site Integation Assessment
The solution was tailored to the realities of Eastern and Western Treatment Plants, accounting for power availability, access, safety, operator workflow and maintenance needs.
Implementation Pathway
HydroTerra provided a staged implementation model, specialist input requirements, TRL improvement estimates, a detailed Gantt chart and cost estimation.
This project demonstrates HydroTerra’s capacity to support monitoring innovation programs and provide practical, implementable pathways for new technologies at complex wastewater sites.
