Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 14TH - 20TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 21 Operations & Assets Operations & Assets Heat from sewers will also be used to warm nearby amenities. Peacehaven's focus on serving the community is no accident. Vociferous opposition to a new plant being built led to a long planning battle. An appli- cation was first made in 2001 but work did not begin until 2009 and the plant was finally completed in October 2013. In operation, it has been a different story. Its ground-breaking design makes it inconspicuous and visitors to the site can end up baffled. Asking locals for help finding it is oen no use: they are unaware of its presence. The high-quality treatment the plant provides and the long outfall have helped Peacehaven to deliver cleaner seas to the Sussex coast. And all the sterile sludge that comes out of the biodigester benefits the farmland. If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, email: paulnewton@fav-house.com. FACTFILE: PEACEHAVEN WTW £300m The cost of building the wastewater treatment works, which was completed in 2013. 18,000m 2 The total area of the curved green roof, which is Europe's largest and is covered in 1m of top soil – the soil dug out for construction. The roof is planted with a specially selected downland grass mix to blend with the landscape. 95m litres The amount of wastewater from Brighton and the surrounding areas that is treated every day. 130m litres The volume to which flows can peak during storm conditions. 2.5km The distance out to sea that the outfall pipe takes final effluent. 400 tonnes The amount of cake made each week from digested sludge. All sludge coming into the site ends up as fertiliser. 15 tonnes The amount of rag removed from the wastewater every week. Peacehaven wastewater treatment works is connected to Brighton by an 11km tunnel up to 40m below ground. This was dug by two tunnelling machines that local schoolchildren named Alice and Hollyblue. The plant's odour control system cost £10 million and is one of the largest of its kind in the UK. If an odour complaint is received, site operators head to the roof of the complex to look for a tractor spreading muck on the fields beyond the site. Recently, new screens with 6mm holes instead of 5mm were installed and throughput was increased by 33 per cent. The fat, oil and grease contained in effluent is skimmed during the treatment process and is fed to the biodigester. The combined heat and power unit on site uses sludge to produce methane. The site currently produces 64 per cent of its energy needs – rising to 100 per cent in dry weather and at night. The £25 million investment will massively increase the power-generating capabilities of the works.

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