Rotork Supplying Flow Control Solutions for Multi-Million Upgrade Project

Intelligent electric actuators have been ordered by Wessex Water to support a £50 million project to reconstruct the Durleigh Water Treatment Centre, which provides drinking water to over 40,000 UK residents. This is part of a framework agreement between Rotork and Wessex Water.

Durleigh Water Treatment Centre in Somerset is Wessex Water’s second largest surface water treatment works. It treats raw water from the Durleigh reservoir and Bridgewater and Taunton canal, but in recent years the condition of the site has deteriorated. This prompted a renewal project that will improve the treatment process and the water that is produced.

Over 200 Rotork IQ multi-turn and part-turn operated actuated valves (some with IW Mk2 gearboxes) have been installed on almost all processes on the site. IQ3 actuators operate a wide range of valves, including butterfly valves that control the flow of raw water through a new main treatment building, inlet valves as the water enters from the reservoir and applications within the main treatment building such as Dissolved Air Flotation, Rapid Gravity Filters and Granular Activated Carbon Filters.

They also operate valves within the second building on site (known as the “Low Lift Pumping Area”), a building that treats wastewater from the process, and a chemical building where final processes (including ultraviolet treatment) are undergone. A small number of compact, electric ROM actuators were also installed to provide simple on/off control within the main treatment building. All the actuators operate on a Profibus control network, providing control and feedback data about the valve and actuator using DP-V0 cyclic communications.

The scheme will be Wessex Water’s first that is delivered to BIM (Building Information Modelling) level two, with the aim to use digital technology to work in a faster, safer and more efficient way. It is anticipated that the new centre will have an output range of 5 and 30 megalitres per day.

IQ3 actuators are ideally suited to water applications because of their water ingress protection; they are double-sealed to IP66/68. Internal electrics are protected from the ambient environment for the full life of the actuator, even when the terminal cover is removed. Real time valve and actuator performance is viewable on the LCD display. Rotork application teams produced the designs and drawings for all the machined components that were required to carry out the valve automation.

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