An eco-friendly commune - Ministerstwo Funduszy i Polityki Regionalnej

Description

The focus of the Commune of Jarocin is innovative ecology. The sewage treatment plant in Cielcza providing its services to the commune is turning into the most innovative raw material recovery facility in Europe. Substances to be recovered from sewage include fertilisers and biogas.

An eco-friendly commune The focus of the Commune of Jarocin is innovative ecology. The sewage treatment plant in Cielcza providing its services to the commune is turning into the most innovative raw material recovery facility in Europe. Substances to be recovered from sewage include fertilisers and biogas. The project covers several tasks. The first one was modernising the Water Treatment Plant in Stefanów (one of six such facilities in the commune). ‘In our plant, water undergoes bacteriological disinfection using UV light, which allows us to reduce the amount of chemicals used. The water softening system, in turn, lets us reduce the calcium carbonate content to 350 mg per litre. With this level of hardness, it is possible to maintain the right mineral composition and taste parameters of water,’ explained Remigiusz Nowojewski, the President of the Water Supply and Sewerage Company (Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji, PWiK).

In addition, the 100-year-old combined sewer was renovated. It needed sealing and reinforcing. The sewer, which is two kilometres long, runs under an access road to the town. ‘In order to prevent the road from becoming completely inaccessible to traffic, we applied the trenchless technology using a thermosetting sleeve. The sewer was covered from the inside with a few-millimetre-thick layer of fibreglass. We hope this will make the sewer operational for another 100 years,’ said Elżbieta Kostka, the manager of the unit responsible for the project implementation.

The town’s sewage system and water supply network are being rebuilt. The old combined sewer system will be replaced with new sanitary sewerage and storm water drainage. Efficient coordination of the works will allow changing the existing gas mains and cable-laying for energy-saving lighting, fibre optics and heat pipelines.

Biogas application

Apart from phosphorus and nitrogen, PWiK in Jarocin is going to recover biogas from sewage sludge. It will be used for energy and heat generation for the commune’s own purposes. Drained sludge will be used for the production of soil fertilisers.

A facility for recovering phosphorus and nitrogen from sewage sludge is being built in Cielcza, and it will be the first one of this type in this region of Europe. In the future, the company is going to sell the fertilisers obtained in this way, which will reduce its day-to-day operating costs. Thanks to appropriate sealing, the treatment plant will cease to emit unpleasant odours. Apart from that, PWiK has introduced an intelligent system for water and sewage system management.