74 | CONTRACTING Southwater T T Richard Loader Cleaning up waterways a ‘worthy game’ Southwater’s core business is the dredging and dewatering of sludge, fine grain silts and hydrocarbon contaminated materials. Ever since its foundation in 2010, perseverance, innovation and collaboration have been the fundamental cornerstones of success for family-owned-and-operated specialist water- treatment business, Southwater. “It’s a worthy and fun game to be in,” says managing director Rob Grant. “The challenge is big and growing with more people making more mess and regulations being policed. There are many and varied pollutants in water flows that require treatment to get waterways cleaned up. Though we have a specialist operational focus, we maintain close relationships with other like-minded but complementary operators. If we can’t help, we can generally introduce clients to companies who can.” Rob, who co-founded the business with his son Matt, says local ratepayers cannot keep funding overburdened wastewater and stormwater facilities — it must be treated at source. “What excites our Southwater team is that we have a few high-capacity treatment options that can be trialled at problem sites to prove we can clean up these problem water flows from sewage, construction and stormwater sites. No longer are there excuses to pollute waterways. We will help clients who want to help themselves.” Headquartered in Hornby, with a branch in Nelson, South Island sites are a priority for the team at Southwater. “Our core customer sectors include district and city councils, quarries and manufacturing, construction and infrastructure, aquaculture and viticulture.” With high service levels demanded by its clients, Rob says Southwater is selective with committing to North Island projects, simply because of the potential uncertainty around Cook Strait ferry services to get plant to clients fast. Southwater’s core business is the dredging and dewatering of sludge, fine grain silts and hydrocarbon contaminated materials. “This is mostly with council or private accounts like factories, farmers and civil works. We own two auger suction dredges, pipes and dosing plant to deploy to sites and methodically remove the problem target sludge. This slurry is received into large dewatering Geotubes® that retain the solids to dry over time. The clear filtrate that exits the bags with 340 micron pores is discharged once tested to meet consent limits.” The team also conducts sludge surveys to determine the volume, nature and location of problem sludge in ponds and waterways. Coloured contour maps support the hard data report provided. Rob says that in line with water treatment and water recycling requirements, services have grown to ensure clients meet discharge consent limits on permanent operations or temporary construction and civil works. “Importantly, our treatment systems are mobile. They are also simple, comprising stages such as in-line dosing, Siltbuster lamella plate separation, filtration and pH adjustment, all to strip out and isolate contaminants.” Since 2013, Southwater has been working with Bishop Water of Canada to establish their BioCord biological system in New Zealand. Rob explains that BioCord is a smart variant of the high surface area approach to accommodate in-situ biology to feed off and hence reduce problem nutrients. “It’s a cost-effective and natural system for sewage, aquaculture and factory waste. BioCord ‘Reactors’ can be retrofitted into existing treatment ponds, making existing ponds more effective. “By simply dredging the surplus sludge from ponds then installing the reactors, the bugs get to work. Southwater has a 20ft container demonstrator housing BioCord rectors for site trials to prove its efficacy prior to CAPEX spend. Our BioCord biological water treatment system is a big part of our future.” Rob says that throughout its 14-year journey, forging and maintaining relationships has been a key contributor to its success. “We only source our main inputs and services, including Geotubes®, chemicals, liner installation, craneage and freight, from longterm supplier alliances. “We buy on value and reliability from good, long-term partners, who in turn support us with service and job leads.” Along with Harrison Grierson, CH2M Beca, Fulton Hogan and Downer, Southwater was a joint recipient of the 2019 Excellence Award IPWEA (Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia) for the Cromwell Waste Water Treatment Plant. We are proud to support Southwater Ltd • Dairy effluent liners • Wastewater ponds • Irrigation ponds • Frost Protection • Floating covers • Durable and UV resistant, HDPE Liners • Comprehensive Material and Installation Warranties • Regulation Compliant ASPECT ENVIRONMENTAL LINING
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