BHB´s new sewage treatment plant – a clean solution

Acute Care Wing weekly project update

The new sewage treatment facility at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) Acute Care Wing is designed to meet the sewage treatment needs of KEMH for many years to come. The state of the art plant constructed by BCM McAlpine Ltd. treats not only the waste expected when the new wing opens in September 2014 but also the current sewage flows from the existing hospital and the Continuing Care Unit. Furthermore, the foresight of the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) design brief for facility ensures that there is additional capacity built into the plant to accommodate future expansion of the hospital.

Most sewage works discharge effluent (treated sewage) after the removal of solids and following the breakdown and removal of most of the remaining biological components. The process that sets the KEMH facility apart from many others is the third stage of treatment known as micro-filtration that removes the extremely fine suspended particles that remain following the first two stages. The result of this is a final product that can be safely discharged to the ecosystem.

BHB CEO Venetta Symonds said: “Our new sewage treatment plant will treat all 100,000 imperial gallons per day of the wastewater from KEMH to a very high standard. We are pleased that we are able to make this positive impact to our environment.”

This level of treatment was stipulated in an agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and BHB back in 2010 and is expected to produce water that is clear to the eye containing less than 10 milligrams per litre of suspended solids.

Dr. Geoff Smith, Environmental Engineer, Bermuda Department of Environmental Protection said:
“This improvement to the treatment of 100,000 imperial gallons per day of wastewater from KEMH is expected to provide at least a 17 percent improvement to the quality of the wastewater discharged to the Seabright outfall off south shore.”

The pumps in the new facility were turned on Monday 31 March 2014. The hospital’s sewage is currently receiving pre-primary treatment only. When the new wing opens in September the plant will be operating to a tertiary level of treatment

The equipment was sourced through internationally recognised manufacturers and installers of sewage treatment facilities, Watling-Hope/WPL of the United Kingdom and Evergreen Engineering from the Republic of Ireland. Installation on site was carried out by Bermudian companies BESCO Ltd. and Rocon Services Ltd.

The underground location of the hospital’s sewage treatment plant is unique in Bermuda. The facility is under the south parking lot of the new Acute Care Wing. Another interesting feature of the hospital’s plant is that it has a specially designed ventilation system. Installed by Bermudian company Keen Ltd., the system ensures that the odours usually associated with sewage treatment are collected and filtered before being discharged from vents in the top of the new building some 150 feet above sea level.

The new Acute Care Wing opens to the public this September. If you have any questions about departments and services moving to the new wing please contact Cathy Stovell on 239-1006 or email her on cathy.stovell@bhb.bm.

Support your new Acute Care Wing with a donation to the Why It Matters campaign visit www.bhct.bm for more information.

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