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JULY 2011

The S.E. Queensland town of Boonah (population approx. 3000), which lies in the Wyaralong Dam Catchment, is serviced by a wastewater treatment plant that previously discharged treated effluent to the Teviot Brook, a tributary of the Logan River. Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Limited (QWI) required the plant to be upgraded before the water supply dam was commissioned.

QWI commissioned Harrison Grierson to plan and design a zero release wastewater treatment plant for Boonah. The Harrison Grierson design achieved this objective by providing increased treated wastewater storage and an irrigation sysem based on the use of an exotic, tall grass species with exceptional hydraulic and nutirent uptake characterisitcs.

The irrigation system was designed using a modified MEDLI model that confirmed the land area requirement, which is significantly less than otherwise would have been required with a conventionally designed irrigation system. Significant project cost savings were consequently made on land purchase, irrigation system and planting.

The treatment plant upgrade has since made a significant contribution to the quality of raw water being stored in the dam and has now been handed over to the operator, Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU).