Pressure sewer system utilised in major housing project

The InviziQ Pressure Sewer System (PSS), from pump manufacturer NOV Mono, has been successfully utilised in the Pitt Town project - a major 940-lot housing project in NSW. The system, which was recently certified by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA), is said to provide more reliable removal of sewage from individual households than conventional alternatives.

The system removes sewage from each property and reduces it to a workable slurry, which can then be easily transferred for treatment using membrane bioreactor technology. This produces clean water, which is then used by the houses for toilet flushing, laundry and irrigation purposes. With over 200 Pitt Town houses currently connected to the system, its performance has already surpassed the expectations of the utility operator, Flow Systems.

“We are basically getting no screenings at all,” said Andrew Horton, executive manager of Flow Systems. “We were initially worried that they were building up in the mains, but we flushed them and found nothing. When we checked the bioreactor further upstream we found that no screenings had bypassed the InviziQ pumps. The Mono equipment seems to be grinding everything up.”

The standard InviziQ system has a storage tank with an approximate 900 L capacity; a progressing cavity (PC) pump incorporating a macerator; and an automatic electronic controller which regulates the flow, monitors fluid levels and protects the pump. Its revolutionary Dry Well feature keeps the pump motor, fluid level sensor and electrical systems separate from the fluid being pumped.

A vertically mounted pump cassette, inserted into the tank through a hole in the Dry Well, ensures that the pump is suspended without the need for a foot, which can cause ragging. This makes accessing the system for servicing a far easier and safer process that involves no contact with the sewage.

Richard Pacholek, Mono’s industry segment manager for pressure sewer, said the company worked closely with both Flow Systems and the Pitt Town project developer, Johnson Property Group, to ensure a satisfactory solution for all involved.

“We have supplied the equipment, handled the commissioning and worked hard to provide service that is second to none by looking after maintenance and service checks, any plumbing enquiries that arise and any reticulation issues within the network,” he said.

Many more InviziQ tanks have now been installed ready for new houses to be added on the project, which will eventually feature 940 dwellings. Pacholek noted, “The project has been running for a number of years and there have been no issues with the InviziQ equipment. This really reflects the many years of innovation and development that have gone into the system.”