WWTP – Wastewater Treatment Plant
The development of settlements and the increase in living standards have led to more intense environmental pollution, with water pollution being one of the most severe forms. Water consumption for various needs is constantly rising, resulting in an increase in wastewater volumes. This trend significantly threatens the human environment, as drinking water is increasingly contaminated with wastewater. For example, more than 30% of drinking water in England contains “used” water, while in Paris, the share of “reused” water in drinking water exceeds 50%. The Ruhr area in Germany uses drinking water that contains about 40% treated wastewater. Stricter requirements for the quality of discharged water demand advanced treatment technologies to ensure the cleanliness and safety of drinking water.
Sources of water pollution:
Chemical treatment uses chemicals to remove substances such as phosphorus, heavy metals, and pesticides through coagulation, flocculation, and neutralization. Advanced treatments employ modern technologies such as membrane technologies, UV radiation, and activated carbon to remove even the smallest pollutants.
Depending on the needs, treatment systems can be small, like household filtration systems, or large, such as industrial and municipal plants that purify large amounts of wastewater.
Hrvoje Kirinčić, bacc.ing.mech
WWTP Požega – Mechanical Works Implementation
Foto: PROMO
CUPOV Požega has a capacity of 33,500 population equivalents and is located in the settlement of Vidovci, east of the city of Požega, at the edge of the industrial zone. This facility receives wastewater from the sewage networks of the city of Požega, the municipality of Brestovac, and part of the municipality of Velika. After treatment, the water is discharged into the Orljava River. Sludge from other smaller treatment plants is also delivered here.
The first phase of CUPOV Požega’s construction was completed and commissioned in mid-2005. The construction included an inlet collector, an automatic coarse screen, an inlet chamber with screw pumps, a fine screen, a measuring channel, an aerated sand and grease trap, and an outlet chamber. This construction enabled the mechanical separation of coarse and fine impurities larger than 5 mm, sand, and grease, which are then disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
The second and third phases, which included the reconstruction and expansion of CUPOV Požega, covered the renovation of part of the mechanical treatment system, the construction and equipping of biological treatment facilities, the development of a sludge drying field, the installation of an outlet chamber for sampling treated water, and landscaping.
In mid-December 2024, CUPOV was put into trial operation, which will last 12 months, during which the facility must achieve the required level of purification.
Jakov Raič, Project Manager