A huge project involving the whole of South Transdanubia has been completed

As gelsei and Bánokszentgyörgyi developments, it is clear that the SZABADICS Group and the A-Híd Zrt. consortium, significantly improving the quality of life for residents of 24 municipalities.

It was a huge job

In the final phase of this project (which included the drainage of Kozármisleny, Bánokszentgyörgy, Gelse, Surd and Liszó), the contractors had to carry out less spectacular but key tasks: on the network side, the gravity and pressure systems were qualified, the control technology and control systems for the 54 transfer stations were coordinated, and finally, the signalling of the wastewater treatment plant in Nagykanizsa as the control centre was successfully completed.

The coordinated operation of the interceptors is key, because the municipal wastewater is first transported by local interceptors to the central municipal interceptor, then passed on from one central interceptor to another, and finally to the treatment plant.

"The structure of the system can almost be compared to an ecological chain, with the sewage plant acting as the top predator"

- Zoltán Both, chief civil engineer of SZABADICS Zrt., helped me to understand the system. Accordingly, the settlements in close proximity to the plant and in direct contact with it were connected first in time, followed by the more distant settlements in turn. The transfer stations communicate not only with each other, but also with the agglomeration sites (Bánokszentgyörgy, Gelse, Nagykanizsa) and the central site (Nagykanizsa).

"The technical content of the project is fully implemented, the worksite has been officially handed over, but we continue to work closely with the Operator and the municipalities, providing continuous support for the optimal functioning of the system"

- emphasised Zoltán Both.

Sample project can be

The trial runs have been successfully completed at both of the two new plants, and the quality of the effluent water meets all the requirements.

"What is particularly interesting," the chief engineer told us, "is that when the official inspection of the closure of the Gelsen wastewater treatment plant took place, the colleagues not only carried out detailed inspections, but also took a number of photographs of the plant. When asked by our project manager, they praised the plant, which they said was of a standard comparable to that of Western countries. They took the photos to show their colleagues in-house that this is the standard they will expect from now on."

Pioneering solutions for the future

Soil radar was used during the network works to avoid utility breaks. This also made the works safer and more efficient.

"The practical use of ground penetrating radar in civil engineering is an absolutely innovative solution, and its practical application in parallel with the BIM will play a huge role in the future"

- said Zoltán Both. The importance of mapping utilities is stressed in all professional forums, and now they can show concrete examples of practical use.

They have also implemented a number of innovative technological solutions, in particular at the Gelsen wastewater treatment plant, where their primary objective was to increase energy efficiency. A heat-pump heating and cooling system has been installed in the buildings; the wastewater transfer station with smart pumps can also optimise energy consumption: it operates with the lowest possible energy consumption based on sensor signals. The aeration system is intermittent depending on the dissolved oxygen concentration and the process is optimised by software, while the transfer pumps have been designed with special attention to the power consumption of the pumps.

"A pilot point cloud survey of more than 80 jobs was also carried out in cooperation with the University of Pécs, during which several technologies were tested, thus taking a step forward towards BIM"

- confirmed the project leader.

Joint success

"We would like to thank the leaders of the municipalities for their supportive attitude and the cooperation of the population," said Zoltán Both. I would especially like to highlight the role of the Operator, who treated the project as his own, sparing no time and energy, and supported the work with an extremely high professional standard and positive attitude. We would also like to pay tribute to the technical inspectors and ÉKM, who supported the project every step of the way."

As the project leader summarised the two years of work, "the cooperation with A-Híd Zrt. was excellent, despite the long physical distance. We are grateful for the cooperation, as well as for the hard work of the staff of the SZABADICS Group."

"All in all," he concluded, "this project was not only successful from a technical and professional point of view, but it also created community value. And we can clearly take this joint effort forward as an example for the future."