Ministry of Water Resources, Iraq - Outline Study to Treat Oil Pollution

The Ministry required proposals for undertaking a study of tar springs and oil pollution of rivers and water surfaces in governorates of Iraq. The proposals needed to set out suggested solutions, procedure and necessary equipment for restricting the outflow of tar and oil, and for treating the pollution. VBTM prepared an outline study for the project including methodology, schedule, costings and list of typical equipment and sizings for handling tar and oil pollution. VBTM included within the outline study provisions for analysis, removal and treatment, and bioremediation of soil material affected by pollution.

Lagos Wastewater Management Office, Nigeria - Technical Assistance for Sanitation Development

Sanitation coverage in Nigeria was one of the lowest in the world due to insufficient investment planning. Coverage stood at 40% in 2010 with limited piped sewerage. To address the shortfall and comply with the Millennium Development Goal conditions, the Lagos State Government embarked on the rehabilitation of some of its existing wastewater treatment facilities and increase of household connections. VBTM provided technical assistance to senior management in the state water agency to review one of the existing facilities and identify the plant and equipment required for its successful rehabilitation. The associated wastewater collection networks and pumping stations were also included in the scheme. Proposals for further studies have been submitted and the scheme is ongoing.

Severn Trent Water, UK - Technical Assistance for Wanlip Sludge Strategy

VBTM reviewed the treatment and disposal of sludge arising from the city of Leicester and its surrounding towns and villages of circa 897,000 p.e. We provided possible solutions for improving sludge treatment plant performance and for converting municipal waste to electrical energy.

UNIDO, West Africa - Technical Assistance

The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) is a region of coastal ocean water between Guinea Bissau and Angola, which faces issues of unsustainable fishing practices, water pollution, habitat degradation and loss of biological diversity. The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) has funded a project to address these issues. The project is being managed by UNIDO in collaboration with other donor agencies and the 16 West African member countries of the region.

VBTM provides voluntary support to aid organisations such as UNIDO. We helped to determine the scope of river modelling studies, prepared technical guidelines for assessing water quality and provided options to address municipal wastewater discharges and hence remove one of the sources of pollution in the Gulf of Guinea.

Lagos State Water Corporation, Nigeria - Institutional Strengthening

Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) serves over 12.5 million people in Lagos State. It is the largest water corporation in Africa. LSWC is undertaking significant investment to increase its water connection coverage, improve the quality of water supplies and strengthen the capabilities of its organisation.

As part of these programmes, LSWC appointed VBTM to deliver best practice training and provide practical support to its water operations personnel. The course content was developed in consultation with the client to meet specific needs of its staff. Feedback from attendees highlighted opportunities for enhancing operational activities and practices. Ninety four per cent of attendees judged the course to be a success, giving a “good” or “excellent” rating for the overall event and content.

Water Utility, NW England, UK - Process Optimisation

VBTM provided process engineering services to optimise and improve the efficiency of a large wastewater sludge processing centre in the north west of England. The facility, which processes 65,000 tonnes dry solids of digested sewage per annum, comprises mechanical dewatering and sludge incineration plant, gas cleaning system, packaged demineralization plant and steam turbine for the generation of electricity.

Following completion of construction and commissioning, VBTM helped the client to increase the performance and operating efficiency of the facility. The improvements included the production of higher quality sludge, thereby increasing the amount suitable for application to land, and an increase in the output of the steam turbine to up to 4 MW (the design capacity), hence generating more electricity for delivery back to the national grid.