Less stink, sludge as new sewage plants open
Major renovations and upgrades to half the city’s sewage plants are nearly complete, while new facilities are under construction.
More than half of the city’s 53 sewage plants have undergone major renovations to improve sewage treatment and the quality of water in local waterways, Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co said yesterday.
Renovations have been completed at Shidongkou treatment plant in Baoshan District and the Zhuyuan plant in the Pudong New Area, while work on the Bailonggang plant, Asia’s largest, in Pudong will not be finished until the end of 2019.
Several new plants are being built for downtown regions, including one which will serve the area near the National Exhibition and Convention Center.
With the renovated and new plants, the city will be able to treat 10.5 million tons of water daily by 2020, said deputy chief engineer Zhang Xin.
The city began renovations in 2015, when few plants reached the top national standard on discharged water, Zhang said.
The renovations have reduced pollutants in treated water by as much as half.
Technology was used during the renovation of the Shidongkou plant to reduce the smell and amount of sludge produced, said Hu Weijie, another company engineer.
Sludge will be separated and dried to become fuel for local power plants, Hu added.
The company plans to connect several plants with a pipeline, so waste can still be treated in case of any malfunction.
A 20-kilometer pipe will initially connect the Bailonggang and Zhuyuan plants.