Drinking water for the future most populated city in the world, in Bangladesh

Supplying drinking water of a constant quality from resources of variable quality, to a megacity that is mistreated by the seasons and is in the process of becoming the most densely populated metropolis in the world. SUEZ rose to this challenge by designing and building the Saidabad plant.
The mission

To produce and distribute quality drinking water in the city of Dhaka

Enjoying constant-quality drinking water is a daily problem for the 12 million inhabitants of the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, due to the sharp variation in the quality of the resources.
 
The problem is made worse in the dry season by the high levels of pollution of the watercourses that feed the drinking water plant. 
 
The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), the local water utility, was looking for a sustainable solution to supply the population with quality water and to double the treatment capacity of the plant.
25
million
The number of inhabitants in Dhaka by 2025, making it the most densely populated conurbation in the world
3,500
tonnes
of domestic waste are produced in Dhaka every day. Less than half of it is collected and it pollutes the groundwater and coastal waters
Our solutions

Innovative solutions for a constant water quality

In two consecutive steps, SUEZ built the Saidabad drinking water plant, then doubled its treatment capacity. An unprecedented raw water pretreatment solution, usually employed in wastewater treatment, was deployed directly in the DND canal that feeds the Saidabad drinking water production plant.
 
 
A two-step pretreatment to biologically stabilise the water entering the plant
 
The surface aerators installed directly in the canal increase the concentration of oxygen in the water and improve the efficiency of the second step of the pretreatment, consisting of biological nitrification. Biological nitrification using the Meteor process reduces the ammonia levels in the raw water and prevents the development of algae.  

Water treatment using processes that are robust and easy to use

SUEZ has equipped the Saidabad plant with high-performance treatment technologies to produce drinking water:

  • The compact Pulsatube water clarifier has halved the footprint  
  • The proven performance of the Aquazur V high-speed sandfilter enables made-to-measure control of operations 
  • Chlorination eliminates algae and the disinfection of the water is adjusted according to seasonal variations 
The results

Producing drinking water of a constant quality to supply a large part of the Bengali capital

Thanks to this solution that uses biological stabilisation to restore the quality of the raw water entering the plant, it can now produce drinking water of a constant quality that supplies a large part of the Bengali capital.
 
The selected systems also guarantee easy operations and maintenance.
450,000
m3
The volume of water treated by the Saidabad plant
18,000
m3
The volume of the two treated water reservoirs
1,452
m²
The filtration surface of the 12 Aquazur V sandfilters
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